Sutton & Epsom head coach Martin Knights has warned his players they still have plenty to prove this season after Saturday's 36-31 defeat to Hertford.

Knights had wanted a win to illustrate how far his side had progressed in London Division One this season, but was disappointed by a lacklustre display.

Sutton face the league's top four clubs in the next five weeks, and Knights expects more from a squad that had threatened their hold on the division after a horror start to the campaign.

"There are a group of players who may have got this thing into their heads that they don't need to look over their shoulder at the competition behind them," he said.

"There are things we need to work on and people still fighting for shirts but, apart from one or two players, people did not commit as much as I would have expected.

"We can't shake it up too much because some players are away.

"It is only the players we have here who are going to fix it in the next couple of weeks."

Sutton never really recovered from going 19-3 down in the opening half-an-hour, but battled back to within a converted score in the closing stages, thanks to a debut try from former Richmond centre Joe Goatley.

Skipper James Clark will be absent due to work commitments for Saturday's trip to Barnes, when Knights expects a response from his men.

"The game got really open in the second half and Hertford had that little extra nous to close out the win," he added.

"We need to tighten up defensively. We are training well, but we are not taking it on to the pitch for some reason or another.

"That must change and I will be having a few conversations with certain individuals this week to make sure it does."