CARL ROOK insists Whites are good enough to be playing Premier Division football – but they have got to prove it by getting out of Ryman One.

The striker, signed from Hastings at the end of September, is enjoying life at Crabble and believes the squad is the strongest in the division.

But a blip in form, which has seen Whites lose back-to-back away games at Hastings and Molesey, has had some critics questioning Whites’ promotion credentials.

Rook said: “It’s been a bad week – no doubt about that. But we all came in for extra training on Sunday and have gone back to basics.

“I’m confident we’re going to get things right against Banstead on Saturday and get on another long winning run.

“This league is a strange one because everyone beats everyone. It just takes one team to hit a bit of form and the championship is yours. That is what happened last season with AFC Wimbledon.

“We’ve been forced to shuffle the side around a bit. Danny Chapman has been a big miss for us and then you’ve got Craig Cloke and Daniel Braithwaite injured too. When you lose players of that quality, it’s always going to make you weaker.

“I thought we were unlucky with both goals we conceded on Saturday. The first one was never a free-kick – I can’t believe the ref blew after Craig Wilkins won that header – and the second was an excellent goal.

“Some people pick out individuals for mistakes – but we’re a team. We take the credit as a team and the flak. That’s the way it should always be – but it seemed we could’ve won that game at Molesey had we a bit more luck.

“Hastings was a bad night. Everything they hit went in although we defended poorly. But you do have to give Hastings some credit – they put on a great performance on the night.”

Carl hopes to be back in the side for the Banstead Athletic match on Satuday after recovering from a calf injury.

He admitted: “I was gutted to be out for the Hastings game. I’m going to train hard this week and hopefully get myself in the team for Saturday.”