Manager Danny Searle knows recent results have left his Braintree Town team with no room for error when they host Chesterfield Town tonight.

Time is running out for the Iron to preserve their Vanarama National League status and defeats by fellow strugglers Aldershot Town and Dover Athletic in their last two games mean the Spireites' visit to Cressing Road has now taken on a must-win status for the hosts.

As has been the case too often this year, Saturday's trip to Dover was another example of Braintree not making more of chances of their own and getting punished for errors in their own penalty area as they were beaten 3-0.

With just 11 games left and his team 14 points away from safety, Searle said he would have to get his players focused properly for another crunch encounter tonight, but, despite the bleak outlook, he isn't ready to raise the white flag just yet.

He told BBC Essex: "Since I've been at the club, the problem is that there have been a lot of times when you've been left thinking 'this shouldn't have happened'.

"But the bottom line is that it has and we have to pick ourselves up.

"We have to beat Chesterfield now to give ourselves any chance of staying up.

"That has to be the focus now.

"We can't go on about what happened at Dover.

"We will dissect it as staff, but from a players' perspective, we have to pick ourselves up and go again.

"I always believe that we can do it and I still do."

The sending off of Ricky Gabriel at Dover - after just six minutes for violent conduct - means the Iron full-back will be suspended for the game against Chesterfield.

So it was timely that Searle strengthened his defensive options with the signing of Karleigh Osborne from Aldershot ahead of the game at Dover and the former Millwall and Bristol City man could be in line to make his home debut tonight.

Searle said he had brought the 30-year-old in to benefit from the experience that he would offer to his youthful squad in the closing months of the campaign as they battle to stay in the top flight of non-league football.

"He will bring us experience because we are such a young team," added the Iron boss.

"We have little to no Conference experience so to bring a player like him in and just have him in the dressing room and see the way he talks is such a big thing.

"It's a case of needing men; we have a lot of players who have the potential to play at a very good level of football but at the moment it's potential.

"I thought some of the young lads were excellent at Dover but we now have to move on."