A daunting trip to title favourites Whitehawk will give Faversham the perfect opportunity to kick-start their Ryman League, Division 1 South campaign, according to boss Ray Turner.

Town made a losing start to the new season, going down 1-0 at home to Worthing on Saturday and followed this with a 3-0 defeat at Hythe Town on Tuesday night.

Turner (pictured) admitted things wouldn’t get any easier with a trip to Whitehawk on Saturday and the visit of Croydon Athletic – relegated from the Ryman League Premier Division last season – on Bank Holiday Monday.

However, he said it was important to stop the rot and put points on the board as soon as possible.

Turner said: "What is most disappointing is that in both games we matched the opposition for long spells.

"They both scored good goals but with Hythe, we didn’t react to it. It was not good enough after the goal. We need characters in our team and I think that was missing.

"The players need to look at themselves, we need to show that we have steel in our side, it’s easy to do that when things are going for you but we need it now. We need people who will stand up and be counted."

He added: "It doesn’t get any easier with Whitehawk away but it’s the ideal game to show what we’re about – to show that we can work hard and get rewards for our hard work. We’re not hitting the panic button just yet – there’s a long way to go – but it is important to get off and running as soon as we can."