Carshalton Athletic manager Matt Howard is looking at the bigger picture after seeing his team lose at home to fellow promotion chasers Herne Bay on Saturday.

The Robins took an early lead through Mickel Miller, but the visitors converted two dead ball situations before half-time and went on to seal victory by adding a third late on.

The result leaves Carshalton one point outside the Ryman Division One South play-off places, while Herne Bay stay hot on the heels of league leaders Folkestone.

“Let’s not read too much into the final result,” said Howard.

“We have 20 games left and are still in the play-off mix.

“If we had, say, seven games to go then this result would carry heavier repercussions."

Howard pointed to individual errors as part of their downfall on Saturday.

“Our overall game management, despite taking the lead and bossing the first 20 minutes, was poor and we let them get a foothold in the game,” he said.

“They exploited gaps in our defence which led to their penalty, plus we had two chances to clear our lines before they won the free kick for their second.”

That league defeat was only Carshalton's second in 10 games however and Howard is challenging his squad to regain the kind of form that saw them win five games on the trot in November.

"We've got another home game on Saturday [vs Chipstead, whom appointed ex-Robins player Craig Tanner as manager last month] and we love playing on our pitch with our fans behind us, so let's rediscover our recent winning form," he added.

"Our last two games have been played in atrocious conditions so hopefully the weather will also be kinder this weekend as I believe both sides are capable of serving up eye-catching football."

Carshalton Athletic host Chipstead on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).