Kingstonian boss Alan Dowson has admitted complacency has left his side still needing three points to be certain of a Ryman League Premier Division play-off place.

A 6-2 defeat to champions Dartford on Saturday made it three reverses in seven days since a 2-1 triumph over Sutton United that seemed to have been enough for a top five finish.

Dowson had hoped to be going into the end of season climax on the crest of a wave, but faces lifting his troops to secure the points they need against play-off chasing Hastings United and relegation-threatened Maidstone United.

And the manager has shouldered the blame for the dip in form that has left his side’s play-off future in the balance for another week.

“When we beat Sutton I thought 66 points would be enough. Everybody at the club - including me - thought we’d got to the play-off and took their foot off the gas,” he said.

“The start of the week was fantastic and it then turned into the worst week ever.

“We can’t do anything about it now. We are having a bad time of it at the minute, but hopefully that will be forgotten when we get a couple of results on the board.

“We still need two or three points and we will get them. We are the second best team in the league, we are where we are on merit and the players have got to start believing they are good enough again.”

Goals from Simon Huckle and Bobby Traynor were the only bright spots at the weekend as Ks failed to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat at Waltham Abbey, described as an embarrassing performance by assistant Mark Hams.

Kingstonian now look likely to lose second spot to Sutton, but Dowson insists his side are still best place to have a crack at securing Blue Square South football next season.

“We have no excuses. We are going to be the freshest team in the play-offs if we get there,” he added.

“We are in the best position because we only have two games left, and everybody else has more than that.

“We’ve got fewer chances to pick up injuries. If we don’t make it, it will be disappointing, but there will be no excuses.”

Kingstonian’s last two games: Apr 17 Hastings United (a), 24 Maidstone United (h).