Lacklustre Bognor, second from bottom in the table, turned in a dismal display in the 2-1 defeat at home to Folkestone Invicta last week that looks to have left them with a mammoth task to pull away from the drop zone.

The side bossed by Jamie Howell and Michael Birmingham go to Chatham Town on Saturday desperate to try to grab a victory and give themselves a fighting chance of staying up.

But in reality, it looks as if demotion is all but a given and the joint bosses have signalled they are looking to build a new side capable of bouncing back at the first time of asking.

Folkestone, who axed manager Andy Drury after the Nye Camp victory, went 2-0 up after 27 minutes through Jack Jebb and Matthias Fanimo before Jasper Mather pulled one back on 36 minutes — but the home side couldn’t rally after the break to get something from the encounter.

Howell admits he has one eye on the summer rebuild and the chance to bounce straight back if indeed the Rocks are relegated.

He said: “I can wait for the season to finish. We are under no illusions, me and Birmy, we know exactly what we need to do, we know exactly the type of people we need for the football club and we will get them.

“But at the moment we can’t so to be honest with you we are trying to do the best we can with the players we have got; some of them are good lads who we will want to keep for next season, some we don’t. I am not going to waste my time having conversations with people who can’t do the job. It’s not their fault. They can’t do the job that I want them to do, that Birmy wants them to do.

“With all due respect I have had success here before, and I know Birmy has (as a player), we know what we need and we will get them. I feel disappointed for the supporters, we want to be winning 3-0, 4-0… we want sparkling football, we want a team that the supporters are very proud of.  Supporters will always forgive you if you try hard and at the moment I am wondering if people are giving 100 per cent for the cause and that’s a question they will have to ask themselves.”

Meanwhile, Birmingham was equally condemnatory of his charges after the loss. He added: “We have several players who kid themselves, they think they are better than they are. It’s as if Bognor fans owe them something and not the other way around and to be honest I think that is why they are in the predicament they are in this season.

“Until player learn to respect the badge, the fact that they are playing in front of good crowds, again, I just think they have this God-given right to turn up on the pitch and go through the motions. It’s nice to see people can see the progression we are making but I hate losing, I am not a loser, I hate it.

“People need to take a long look in the mirror, not just for now but how they have been all season. I will defend my players to the hilt if I know they are being honest and I don’t think they were being honest against Folkestone, too many of the hid and took the easy way out.”