GLEN Alzapiedi says he believes he now faces a task of bringing consistency to the club for the rest of the season because they are likely to fall short of the play-offs again.

Speaking after the Gulls’ eighth home defeat of the season against promotion-hopefuls Cray on Saturday, the new Canvey manager was candid about what he wanted to achieve in the next four months.

He said: “I don’t think we have shown good enough form to believe that we can chase our way back into the play-off pack.

“So for me, it is a case of stabilising the performances and results so that I have got a base to try and rebuild the side.

“I do have an idea of where we need to strengthen, and what sort of players I want to get into the club.

“How much rebuilding I do is entirely down to the players that are here.

“So I want to try and stabilise things in the league, but in the cups the aim is to get to one of the finals.

“And if we can get to a cup final then who knows?

Billericay won the Essex Senior Cup last year and they were not one of the better sides in the league, they were in the cluster outside the play-offs.

“So that is what we are looking to do this season.”

Alzapiedi made three changes from the side which lost at East Thurrock, with Danny Kerrigan, Jason Hallett and Alex Rhodes coming in for Jay Curran, Leon Gordon and Danny Spendlove.

And he revealed afterwards he was forced to switch from the Gulls’ usual 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3 because of the unavailability of midfielders Matt Game and Spendlove.

He acknowledged that Can-vey’s home form has not been good enough this season, and said he felt that was because they had not been “ruthless enough in either penalty box”.

And that proved to be the case again on Saturday as his attackers wasted good chances in either half, while his defenders failed to deal with a routine cross for visitors’ 44th minute winner.

But Canvey’s day started brightly enough and the Park Lane faithful delivered their first-ever rendition of “Alzapiedi’s Yellow Army” after seeing Hallett just fail to connect with Rhodes’ low cross.

Hallett soon went close again as he shrugged off his marker on the halfway line and raced in on goal to force Andy Walker to push his rising drive over the bar.

But it was the visitors who took a 21st-minute lead when Ashley Dumas fouled Chris Saunders in the box and Tommy Whitnall just managed to sneak the resulting penalty under James Russell. The lead only lasted four minutes, though, as Alex Bentley fouled Kevin Dobinson and Rhodes fired the resulting direct free-kick past Walker at his near post.

But Cray were back in front a minute before the break when Sam Long swung in a tame-looking cross and Jack Clark snuck between his markers to head home from close range.

The Gulls still had time to go close to an equaliser twice before the interval, but Rhodes shot wide with a clear sight of goal, and then Hallett saw his looping header hit the top of the bar and bounce over.

Cray defended well and had the rub of the green as they successfully defended their lead in a poor-quality and often bad-tempered second half.

Canvey had a very good penalty appeal turned down on the hour mark when Joe Vines appeared to chop down Kevin Dobinson, but referee Alan Dale waved away the claim.

Alzapiedi brought on attackers Leon Gordon and Jay Curran to help chase the game, but they still found chances at a premium.

And it took a fine 63rd minute save from Russell to deny Long from distance with 20 minutes to go. Rhodes then had a glorious chance when he went clean through on goal from a ball over the top, but he could only scuff a tame shot wide of the advanced keeper before it was hacked away.

Canvey continued to push and Hallett headed over in a crowded penalty box from Rhodes’ corner, while at the other end Russell made an excellent save with his legs to deny Leigh Bremner when he was sent clean through on goal.

And in the fourth minute of injury-time Gordon had a penalty appeal turned down when went down under a scruffy challenge from Vines in the six-yard box before the final whistle confirmed Canvey’s third defeat in their last four games.

It left the Gulls in 12th place in the table and 10 points off of the play-off places, the last of which is now occupied by Cray.

Canvey (4-3-3): Russell 7; West 6, Sheehan 6, Easterford 6, Dumas 6; Kerrigan 6, Dobinson 6 (Gordon 60, 6), Kin