St George's coach Jarreau Hayward is refusing to panic despite his side’s worrying slump in form leaving them precariously positioned above the relegation zone.

Despite a spirited display, St George’s suffered a 3-1 defeat against title-chasing Devonshire Cougars on Sunday, condemning the East End outfit to a third loss on the spin, while also extending their winless run in the Premier Division to four matches.

The latest setback has left last season’s third-place finishers in eighth, one place and just three points above the drop zone, although they have a game in hand on the teams below them.

Despite the poor run of form, Hayward is adamant there is no cause for alarm, instead remaining confident that the club will turn their fortunes around.

“There is definitely no cause for panic for me just yet,” he said. “At the end of the day I know we have the talent within the squad and we are starting to get of number of players back from injury, so we are in a position to turn things around.

“The important thing is to keep working hard right now and keeping the entire squad encouraged. The spirit within the squad is still high and so we just need to keep it that way, ensure the unity remains and put our energy towards the right things.

“I know we’ll be all right and I’m confident things will change soon.”

One notable cause for concern could be a lack of goals from his side so far this season, with St George’s scoring ten times from their eight fixtures, the joint lowest in the league alongside Young Men’s Social Club.

However, being to boast an enviable strike force which includes former professional Jonté Smith as well as Paul Simons and the highly impressive Ryan King, Hayward has backed his forwards to start firing again.

“I think if we were a little more clinical in front of goal [against Cougars] it might have been a different story,” Hayward added. “However, I definitely take heart from our frontline and we still have others to come back.

“All we can do is continue to work hard, try to create chances and trust in those guys to do what they need to.

“It’s also not just about the strikers. We need to be a little better in both boxes because I think we are doing well in that midfield area in terms of battling and getting stuck in.

“Despite the result I was proud of the performance of the players because they didn’t stop until the end.”

St George’s have a break from league action this weekend, instead turning attention to the Friendship Trophy with a quarter-final clash against Hamilton Parish at St David’s on Sunday.

While the competition offers the opportunity of a welcome distraction from their recent struggles, Hayward is adamant preparations will be the same as they are ahead of any encounter as he aims to maintain the seemingly positive atmosphere among the squad.

“We have another important game coming up this weekend and so we have to keep pressing on and prepare for the next game as we would with any other,” he said.

“We have a lot to play for still and so it’s a case of keeping that focus up and working hard as a unit.

“At this level it is all about small margins and sometimes that’s the only real difference between teams.

“I feel like we are right there and so if we continue to press on and build on the positive things that we do the victories will soon come again, I have no doubt about that.”