JOINT-manager Matt Gardiner is adamant Worcester City are still in a “good place” to avoid the drop despite missing the chance to ease their relegation worries.

Worcester could have all but secured their Vanarama National League North status for another season with a victory at Bradford Park Avenue on Saturday.

But a “sloppy” start saw Reece Webb-Foster net a first-half hat-trick and Wayne Thomas receive a straight red card.

Kyle Perry reduced the deficit to 3-1 on the stroke of half-time but Avenue remained on top after the break to clinch all three points.

The result leaves 15th-placed City six points clear of third-from-bottom Lowestoft Town, who they face on Tuesday (7.45pm) at Crown Meadow, and Gardiner is confident his side can see off the threat with three games left.

“Until you are mathematically safe, you keep going right until the end and that’s what we have got to do,” he said.

“That was the mind-set on Saturday as we wanted to try to win the game but we didn’t give ourselves enough of a chance.

“If you are still in and around it (the relegation area) coming off the back of February, it is difficult to get away.

“But Bradford were the same and they have got back-to-back victories now and that’s probably enough for them.

“We are still a couple of points away but we know it is in our hands and that’s a good place to be in.”

Gardiner felt Avenue used the windy conditions to their advantage at the Horsfall Stadium but insisted that did not excuse the way they started.

“That first 20 minutes was not good enough, the players know that and I told them that at half-time,” he said.

“It put us on the back foot and I thought we were sloppy.

“The wind did not help. You have got to know how to play on this pitch and unfortunately we didn’t adapt or cope as well as we should have done.”

Gardiner said he only saw the incident which led to Thomas getting City’s 11th red card of the campaign “from the corner of his eye”.

But he admitted their cause has also not been helped this season by the amount of times they have finished matches with 10 men.

“From my perspective, I think he (Thomas) has got in front of him (Lamin Colley) and he has tried to be strong,” he said.

“His arms were down but the player has gone down and the referee has made a decision.

“But that’s how it looked from the corner of my eye.”

He added: “We picked up another red card on Saturday, so when you are finishing 25 per cent of your games with not your full quota of players you are going to give yourself a mountain to climb.”