BILLERICAY Town first-team coach Harry Wheeler admitted he was worried by the performance in Saturday's opening day defeat against Kingstonian.

Isthmian Premier League favourites Town were beaten 1-0 at the AGP Arena thanks to a stoppage time goal from Lewis Taylor.

That came after the hosts missed an abundance of clear-cut chances in the second-half, following a poor first-half display.

And Wheeler said Town, who saw Joe Ellul red-carded in the final 10 minutes, did not reach "the required standard".

"This result may surprise other people but we can only worry about ourselves and we should be worried after that," he said.

"We were very poor in the first-half and I expect better. That is not a standard we set.

"We were on top in the second-half but they put their chance away and we didn’t. If you miss chances like that you will never be where you want to be so that is a stark warning to the lads.

"These boys must get used to the pressure. If they want to be here they must handle it as that pressure won’t go away.

"I thought the red-card was harsh. I didn’t think their guy would get to the ball so it's not a goalscoring chance in my eyes.

"But, at the end of the day, we should have done better."

Kingstonian's win was masterminded by former Town manager Craig Edwards.

Edwards left the club in March, after learning owner Glenn Tamplin would be working alongside him as joint-manager.

However, the two remain friends, and Edwards said he felt the hype around Town's promotion chances worked in his side's favour.

"Our game plan worked to a T," he said.

"With all the talk of League Two, the stadium and beating West Ham I thought Billericay would be distracted from the most important thing in football - winning your next game.

I might be wrong but I felt coming here we were playing the supporting role to the show and it doesn't work like that in football.

"But they will be up there challenging and they are a fantastic side."