Jimmy Cooper is refusing to panic over the injury crisis threatening to devour the Metropolitan Police’s promotion aims, despite admitting it is the worst he has ever known.

The Blues currently have six first-team regulars on the sidelines, including all four centre backs.

But despite a patched-up Met outfit crashing to a 3-1 defeat at Chatham Town on Tuesday, leaving them hovering above the drop zone, Cooper insists there are better times ahead.

He said: “Without a doubt this is the worst injury situation I have ever come across, including when I was a player.

“I am having to play people out of position - we have midfielders and strikers filling in at centre half and that is never a recipe for success.

“But the thing with this league is everybody is pretty evenly matched, and when we get our players back I think we will move up the table pretty quickly.

“So although I am disappointed with how things are going, we have plenty of time to put things right.”

Vernon Francis was on the scoresheet on Tuesday, with Chris Sharpling grabbing the goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Fleet Town.

And Cooper admitted there was plenty to cause him sleepless nights, even allowing the casualty list.

He added: “We have got to defend better.

“We made three schoolboy errors on Tuesday - in fact I wouldn’t expect an under-11 side to make those errors.

“We were controlling the game and suddenly it was gone, and that must change.”

The Met face struggling Chipstead on Saturday, and the Blues boss sees it as the perfect opportunity to claim a vital three points.

Cooper added: “It is a game we have got to win.

“Without being disrespectful to Chipstead you could bill it as a relegation battle on current form, and it is up to us to put that behind us.”

Met Police’s next three fixtures: Sep 26 Chipstead (h), Oct 3 Maldon Town (FAT, h), 10 Godalming Town (a)