Alan Dowson has brushed off talk of a slump at Kingsmeadow by insisting his Kingstonian side were always likely to have a dip in form.

Saturday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Tonbridge Angels, in a game that saw two Kingstonian players red-carded, made it three games without a win for Dowson’s promotion-chasing men.

But the Kingstonian boss is refusing to get carried away.

Dowson said: “We were always going to have a blip and it was silly to think otherwise.

“I would much rather have a blip at this stage of the season than at the end of it so there is no need to panic.

“We just need to get everyone freshened up a bit.

“I am positive we are not far from getting another winning run going and when we do that all memories of this will be well behind us.”

Lee Hall and Luke Hickie saw red on Saturday as Dowson’s men slumped in Kent.

And the Kingstonian boss had some choice words for the performance of the referee.

He added: “I honestly think the referee was unwell.

“In my opinion it was as though he was having a breakdown.

“We did the toss for kick-off and then he could not remember who won it and it went downhill from there.

“I went to speak to him afterwards and he just started screaming and shouting at me so I thought I’d leave it at that.

“There were some laughable decisions but we just have to move on.”

Kingstonian face Boreham Wood this weekend in a tussle for second spot.

And Dowson admits his side will need to be on their guard.

He added: “We have some really tough games coming up and it is a massive test.

“But we have to believe in ourselves and keep doing what has got us to this point.”

Kingstonian’s next three games: Mar 7 Boreham Wood (h), 13 Wealdstone (a), 15 Ashford Town (h)