Sutton United boss Paul Doswell reckons it is no surprise that back-to-back defeats coincided with skipper Glen Southam's suspension.
United had gone five games unbeaten and thoughts were turning to a late surge to the Conference South play-offs.
However, after picking up his 10th yellow card in the win at Hemel Hempstead, and a second red card of the season in the draw at Concord Rangers, Southam was banned for six games.
Thereafter, United lost 2-1 at home to Weston-super-Mare last weekend, and then 3-2 at Gosport Borough on Tuesday night.
Doswell has since thrown in the towel on any hopes of reaching the play-offs, and he acknowledged the importance of his skipper's absence.
"Glen is a massive influence for us, you can see that even if he's watching from the stands he is desperate for us to win games," Doswell said.
"He's never been sent off in his career, so maybe he's been a bit unlucky.
"We played well enough to beat Weston, but we seriously missed Glen."
He added: "We have spoken to him about it and reminded him of his responsibilities as captain, and he knows he has to improve."
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