BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent boss Tom Rothery has called for a reality check as his side prepare for the final week of their season.

The R’s play their last home match of the Bostik League premier division campaign tomorrow when they welcome Metropolitan Police to the Taydal Stadium.

They then entertain FC Clacton in the Tolleshunt D’Arcy Memorial Cup final on Tuesday before finishing at Worthing next Saturday.

Those fixtures will bring the curtain down on a successful season in which the club have preserved their step three status.

However, there was criticism of the team following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Harlow Town.

And the R’s had another tough night when losing 7-0 at home to Leatherhead on Monday.

Rothery agreed his players were below-par and produced one of their poorer performances in the former.

However, he felt it was important to keep perspective.

“It was a very disappointing performance and we came away with what we deserved,” he said, speaking before the Leatherhead game.

“That said, I’m always one for staying level-headed.

“When we drew with Billericay, we weren’t Real Madrid but, equally, losing at Harlow doesn’t make us Dog and Duck.

“It’s just not realistic to expect the team to produce top performances every week.

“I always expect a good shift from the boys and can understand why people thought that wasn’t reached on Saturday.

“Occasionally we’ve fallen short in terms of the standards expected but I’d suggest that’s only happened in two or three games.

“I’ll always strive for perfection but, sadly, that won’t be achieved every time.

“I don’t like that but always have to remain positive and constructive in my thoughts.”

Rothery believes that in order to move forward next season, greater investment will be needed to give the club a bigger playing budget.

“Generally in this league and higher, you finish where you spend,” he said.

“If we want to be challenging in the top five or six, it’ll take greater investment and also time for our more experienced players to adjust and adapt to this level.

“I’m ambitious and always aim to finish as high as possible but it’s also important to be realistic.

“This is a tough league and while I’m not saying we won’t ever get out of it, bigger clubs with much bigger budgets have tried and failed to get promoted from it.

“Without doubt, getting to the next level is going to take a lot of work off the pitch as well as on it.”