WEYMOUTH boss Bobby Gould has admitted that the club’s quest for Blue Square Premier survival is now in the “laps of the gods”.

The experienced manager reckons his side are now chasing the “impossible dream” of claiming nine points from their last three games after they suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss against Ebbsfleet United at the Wessex Stadium on Saturday.

That defeat has plunged the club to third-bottom in non-League’s top-flight following victory for fellow strugglers York City, who have now moved out of the drop-zone and sit two points above the Terras with a far superior goal difference.

Ebbsfleet did the damage in the opening 11 minutes when goals from Ricky Shakes and Kezie Ibe had Weymouth reeling from an early onslaught that they never recovered from.

And Gould, who saw his side end a winless run of 11 games with a draw against Forest Green Rovers last Monday, was bitterly upset by the performance.

He said: “I am very disappointed. I did not think we started with the same intensity as we did against Forest Green and it cost us dearly in the form of two very early goals.

“From there we struggled with our confidence to bring back the same self belief in the team as we had last Monday and basically it was not a very pleasing performance at all. We never got to the level that I wished for. “I certainly did not enjoy the first 20 minutes. In fact I was bitterly disappointed but I thought if I started hollering from the technical area it might not be the right thing.

“Instead I endeavoured to let the players get out of the mess they had got themselves into because at the end of the day it is up to them.”

Weymouth will travel to play-off contenders Histon tomorrow before completing their campaign with a home game against York City at the Wessex on Friday, followed by a trip to Wrexham on Sunday. When asked what it is going to take over the next seven days to secure safety, Gould added: “Weneed to get nine points. Anything is possible in life and that is the theme of the week – the impossible dream.

“We tried to clear some of the fog in the players’ minds after the game but whether they will be able to achieve that is in the laps of the gods. We spoke in-depth about today, about tomorrow, about Monday and so on, and we have drawn up a plan for the week that we are going to put into action.

“We have got to include a bit of recovery time in that as well, both in terms of the mind and the body, and unfortunately we have picked up a number of injuries again which makes life even tougher.

“But what I can assure people is that we will be doing all we can this week in terms of our lifestyles for Weymouth Football Club.”

Pierre Joseph-Dubois made a welcome return as an unused substitute on Saturday following three months out with a metatarsal injury but it is unclear how much of a part he will be able to play in the next three games.

Gould said: “Pierre is very close. He trained yesterday and was very confident with his foot but we thought playing him on Saturday would have been too much too soon.”