LINGFIELD boss Dixie Dean bemoaned three mistakes from his side as they ended their season with defeat at Selsey on Saturday.
Dean's men crashed to a 3-2 defeat on the south coast, with the hosts earning three precious points that kept them in the league.
Ryan Morey's hat-trick was enough to give Selsey all three points against a depleted Lingfield side, for whom Joel O'Hara bagged a brace.
The result left Lingfield 15th in Sussex County League Division One, but Dean said he was confident that his young side would benefit from the experience of this season as they look to push on next year.
He said: "It all went downhill for us after a game against Rye United, when we were 3-0 up and ended up drawing 3-3, with Dean Hamlin getting injured and a few of our players going off the boil.
"We lost Nicky Forster, too, and after that I went with the youth team.
"We have played six 16-year-olds this year and I don't think you will find many teams that do that.
"They have done all right and learnt a lot, and I am sure that will benefit them next year.
"We will be a mid-table team next year with a mix of experience and youth, but with a lot of local lads, and hopefully young players will look at Lingfield and want to come and play here, because they know they will get a chance."
