Luke Anderson is set to quit Crawley this week and join Premier Division promotion rivals Margate.

The midfielder has been approached by Margate boss Chris Kinnear and agreed to defect to Kent, dealing a big blow to Billy Smith's plans of getting his team back on track.

Smith admitted: "I can't see Luke staying here now because the money he has been offered is too good to refuse. Margate have money to throw around and he is attracted by that.

"Luke and I have spoken about it and I did ask whether he wanted to play at a club that have a small ground with only 300 supporters watching them or one that has a great stadium and a thousand people at matches? But I can't compete with Margate on wages and it's something we've got to accept."

The Crawley boss was upset with the nature of Margate's swoop. Smith claims Kinnear contacted his midfielder without putting in a seven-day approach.

"I was peeved and told Chris he would have to go through the right channels," he said. "Now they've put that approach in and I guess they will talk officially this week."

Smith had already lost defender Andy Taylor, who quit last Saturday after the 2-1 FA Trophy defeat against Ashford. Taylor is disillusioned by being unable to command a regular place, the team's poor run of results and criticism from some of the supporters.

All this means the Crawley boss will be busy searching for two replacements. He has no plans to directly replace Taylor and is more likely to sign another striker. But he will need someone to fill Anderson's position.

He said: "I'm looking to bring in a striker next week. I will wait for Luke's final decision and if he goes I'll work on getting him replaced. It is a big blow losing Luke, especially to a promotion rival, but we've got to take it on the chin.

"We've had a sticky patch and I'm working hard on finding a remedy to the problem. We're high up in the table, which wasn't the case when I took over nearly 18 months ago.

"I've had some stick from the fans, but they've got to remember that I don't have a magic wand to wave. Sometimes form is going to drop and it's up to me to try and sort it out to the best of my ability."

Smith was given a vote of confidence by chief executive John Duly after Saturday's humiliation. Duly said: "Billy's done a fine job and he's got our full backing."