IAN Bogie has challenged his Gateshead side to rectify the setback of their last two games, and reaffirm their position in the hunt for a play-off spot.

The Tynesiders entertain second-bottom Newport County today, having dropped to sixth – one place and two points out of the play-off zone – following last Saturday’s draw with Lincoln City, who are 16th, and Tuesday’s surprise defeat by fourth-bottom Kettering Town.

Bogie – who is to offer a contract to former Chelsea trainee Carl Magnay, and another centre-back – insists his club have no “divine right” to beat such sides, and respect them accordingly.

But he says Gateshead must recover their recent form if they are to maintain a push for promotion.

“The last two results have been disappointing,” said Bogie, who plans to hand Liam Hatch a first start, though he is without Kris Gate and Nathan Fisher.

“On Saturday, other than the first 15 minutes and the last 10, performance levels were good and we played some great football.

“Tuesday was a poor performance and a disappointing result.

“We haven’t got a divine right to beat anybody. Kettering are fighting for their lives and they probably warranted the victory.

“We had a lot of possession on the night but we huffed and puffed and there were too many players off the pace, which was disappointing.

“It was a bit of a setback but not a major one, and something we can rectify by winning on Saturday. That’s got to be our aim.

“I’m not going to be too despondent because the games come around thick and fast.

“We’ve got to regroup and respond in a positive fashion by going all out to get the three points against Newport.

“People might think we take these games lightly, against teams near the bottom, but that’s definitely not the case.

“Our preparation for every game is the same, whether it’s a Fleetwood or a Newport County, and we treat every opponent the same, with respect.

“We’ve got to apply ourselves and make sure we’re right up for the game, and stay in that chasing pack for a play-off place.

“The one positive on Tuesday was that the teams around us in the league table didn’t win either, so we’re still sixth, and if we win on Saturday we could well be back in the top five again.

“That’s got to be our aim.”