91Èȱ¬

Torquay United player-manager Kevin Nicholson has admitted he is finding it harder than he thought to add experience to his National League side.

A third straight defeat means the Gulls have slipped to 18th, just two points above the relegation zone.

"All being well we can look to help this group with a bit of experience," Nicholson told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Devon.

"That's been ongoing for a couple of weeks now, but it's a tough one at the moment to get the right people."

Nicholson added: "I just haven't had the breakthroughs that it looked at times I was going to have, but that's the nature of the beast - you've got to keep asking the questions and highlighting the players and eventually you'll get what you want."

Other than Nicholson, who has not played himself since October, Aman Verma and Shaun Harrad are the only Torquay players over the age of 30, but the manager accepts his squad should still be doing better.

"If they (the players) don't get it, it's my fault - I'm the manager. I have to get it so it becomes second nature to them.

"It's okay talking about a lack of experience and what we need, but what we have right now I have to make better - that's the truth of it."