Nikki Bull said he had absolutely no complaints about Margate’s 2-0 defeat at Chelmsford in Vanarama National League South on Monday night.

The Blues were a goal down inside 10 minutes before conceding again six minutes before half-time and manager Bull admits they never looked like turning the game round.

Bull, whose team had beaten Bath 1-0 at Hartsdown on the opening day, said: “Two-nil flattered us. We were second best in every department and it hurts me to say that.

“There was no bad luck, no bad decisions and there’s no point trying to hide that fact.
“I just felt we did not impose ourselves at the start of the game.

“We started on the back foot and once they scored after 10 minutes it kind of knocked the stuffing out of us a little.

“We started doing things we have not practised. The players went off the script a little bit which was a recipe for disaster.”

Bull admits that but for keeper Lewis Ward, Gate might have suffered a heavier defeat in Essex adding: “We knew it would be tough going there but I was expecting to get something from the game and to put on a good showing.

“The most disappointing thing was that we didn’t give ourselves a chance. We didn’t even do the basics well which is something we have worked on in pre-season.

“I do have to remember that it’s a new squad and we’re not going to win every game but I expect us to be better than we were at Chelmsford.

“I’ve got players who weren’t playing or even on the bench and they’ll be thinking ‘I should be getting a game after that’ and it would be hard to disagree with them.”

Meanwhile, Bull has accused Gary Owers of having a short memory after the Bath boss labelled him unprofessional at the end of Saturday’s 1-0 win at Hartsdown.

Owers claimed Bull’s celebrations after Alex Osborn’s late winner were disrespectful but Bull said he had been far from impressed with the Bath management team’s conduct on the final day of last season when Gate stayed up despite losing 2-0 at Twerton Park.

Bull said: “They’ve got short memories, that’s for sure. I was far from happy with his and his bench’s conduct (last season).

“Some of the comments they made then were not very professional at all so on Saturday I reminded them of a few things. I just told him ‘What goes around comes around’ and he spat his dummy out’.”