Hythe Town ready for Whitstable Town as they look to avoid being dragged into relegation dogfight in Isthmian League South East

Hythe Town face all of the teams at the bottom end of Isthmian South East and head to Whitstable for the first of several relegation scraps.

Player-boss James Rogers hopes he can bring in a striker before the weekend to help make sure they don’t get sucked into the bottom three.

Rogers’ team suffered another narrow defeat against a top team on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Haywards Heath. That followed a 2-1 loss at home to Ashford United the week before, another team fighting at the top end.

Bottom end scuffles are now on the agenda.

“It’s a six-pointer isn’t it?” said Rogers on this Saturday’s game. “There is no way you can play it down.

“For me, it is a game they can’t lose, but that’s the same for us, because I don’t want to be dragged into those bottom three places.”

Whitstable are currently bottom of the table and will see this as a chance of climbing towards safety.

“It is a huge game,” Rogers added. “We are at their place, probably going to be expecting quite a big crowd with what is at stake. They will be up for it and I know a few of their lads. We have taken Ollie Gray from them in the last few weeks and he has done well.

“It is going to be a bit of a battle and the minimum I am expecting from our team is to put a shift in and the quality of player we have got, like Tyler Sterling and Luca Woodhouse, they are match winners on their day. I am hoping our boys turn up and realise what is on the line for Hythe and we will make sure they know what is at stake.”

Rogers put in a seven-day approach for a striker before the weekend and was hoping to talk with him this week, with a view to signing before Saturday.

He said: “I am hoping that will come off and if it does that will strengthen us massively because we normally