Steve Ibbitson emerged from the dressing room with fighting talk after watching Lewes lose his first game in charge.

The Rooks suffered their 15th successive Blue Square premier defeat as they went down 1-0 at home to play-off hopefuls Kidderminster.

The formalities of relegation are not far away but new caretaker manager Ibbitson is adamant they will not be bowing out without a fight.

A battling display was appreciated by fans who appeared to number a lot more than the official gate of 385.

Ibbitson said: “There is bags of character in the side and they are brave, not just in terms of tackling. In the second half we showed a bit of bravery in terms of getting on the ball and trying to play.

“What I said to the players was we are not here just to see the season out. We want points and we want wins. If we don’t achieve that, it won’t be for the want of trying.

“We want to take things forward. We have points to play for and we want to get as many as we can.”

Ibbitson promised no magic wand after being asked to replace Kevin Keehan, who resigned following the midweek defeat at Rushden.

He is operating with the same players as his predecessor – a set of players whose confidence must be at a low ebb after 18 games without a win – and he has little chance of bringing anyone new in.

Together with assistants Jason Hopkinson and Steve Eke, he has to try to get the best out of what he has got.

To be fair, this performance was no different from Keehan’s final two matches in charge but there was a different atmosphere in the ground including positive singing from the Philcox Stand and a number of fans staying behind afterwards to applaud the players off after a lengthy on-pitch debriefing with their caretaker boss.

Those fans may have wondered whether they had been watching a first-team or a youth game. Under-18s boss Ibbitson had seven teenagers in his matchday squad of 16 and 12 players aged 22 or under.

In the first half they struggled to produce anything going forward, although they kept chances to a minimum for a Kidderminster side who have beaten Crawley and Eastbourne in the past fortnight.

The first chance of the game was converted on 19 minutes, Justin Richards drilling home a low cross from Matthew Barnes-Homer, and the only other one of the first half was a free header from Russell Penn straight into the midriff of goalkeeper Rikki Banks.

Banks came to the rescue in the second half with saves from Barnes-Homer, Dean Bennett and Penn but Lewes also produced a lot more going forward.

They finished with four teenagers up front, with David Wheeler and debutant Ross Sutton attacking from the flanks with Tim Rivers and Fred Foreman through the middle.

A Rivers shot which was comfortably blocked was their only shot on target but at least they finished with a good spell of pressure which had the visitors fretting.

Ibbitson said: “I was pleased with the young lads. When they came on they made a difference, they got us passing and playing.

“I was pleased with the performance if not the result. It would have been nice to start with a win but we have certainly got a lot we can build on.

“I asked the crowd to be patient and they were. They got behind us and I hope over the next few weeks they continue to support us. We will try to give them something to shout about.”

Lewes: Banks; Barness, Cullip, Butters, Fisk; Wheeler, Breach (sub Foreman 68), Keehan, Wilkinson, Cox (sub Sutton 76); Henry (sub Rivers 76). Subs not used: Hall, Storrie.

Booked: Wheeler (38, kicking ball away), Wilkinson (48, foul).

Kidderminister: Bartlett; Lowe, Riley, Creighton, Baker; Penn (sub Brittain 72), Bennett, Knights (sub Smikle 72), McPhee; Barnes-Homer (sub Moore 63), Richards. Subs not used: Carr, Jones.

Booked: None.