PHIL Simkin summed up his feelings towards Dorchester Town’s 4-0 beating at the hands of Dover Athletic by describing it as his “worst day of the season”.

The Magpies have suffered a number of defeats this term but Saturday’s loss at the Avenue was the most unpleasant for the experienced manager.

It was the sixth time this season that the county town club conceded four or more goals in a league game and was their fourth Skrill South reverse on the spin.

They and Gosport Borough remain six points adrift of Tonbridge Angels and Maidenhead United at the foot of the table as the Magpies continue to prop up the rest of the division in last place.

And if they don’t start producing performances like those that saw them win at promotion-chasing Sutton back in November, relegation could come sooner rather than later.

Saturday’s disappointment came on the afternoon that long-serving skipper Mark Jermyn reached the incredible milestone of 600 Dorchester appearances – but it wasn’t a display from the Magpies that was befitting of such a landmark.

Defensive lapses, a propensity for giving the ball away too cheaply, and a lack of a cutting edge made it a hard 90 minutes for everyone associated with the club to stomach, none more so than Simkin.

Speaking after the final whistle, he said: “I think this is about the worst day of the season for me.

“Last week we were ripped apart by two quality players, this week we’ve ripped ourselves apart.

“We kept the ball quite well at times and on a bad surface I thought we passed it quite well.

“And we were brave enough to pass it because we had to create things.

“We couldn’t have done much more in possession but when you defend like that it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

Simkin felt the officials missed a “blatant” handball by Dover striker Jeff Goulding just before he opened the scoring in the first half.

And although he was relatively pleased with how his side performed up t the break, Dover’s second goal, number two in Goulding’s hat-trick, was the killer blow.

On Warren Byerley’s first game back at the Avenue after joining on loan from Poole, he added: “Warren did what I brought him in to do.

“We look better with him because he retained the ball and brought people in.”

There could well be changes for tomorrow night’s home clash with Hayes & Yeading (7.45pm) in what will be another crucial game for the Magpies.