Chester FC boss Jon McCarthy was surprised at questions about his future after the Blues fell to their 15th defeat in 20 games on Saturday.

The Blues were dismantled with ease at Sutton United, falling to a heavy 5-2 defeat, although results elsewhere mean that they should be playing National League football once again next season, barring a nine-goal swing on the final day.

The target set by McCarthy to his players was 50 points and safety come the end of this season, but their alarming run of form since the turn of the year has seen the Chester boss come under fire from some supporters who have seen their side slip from seventh to 17th four months.

But when quizzed on his Chester future on Saturday following the loss at Gander Green Lane, McCarthy was surprised at the line of questioning.

“I’m disappointed with that, I wasn’t expecting that to come,” McCarthy said.

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“My target from the board was to keep Chester up. I feel I’ve managed that, they said keep us up and get us as high up towards halfway as possible. I feel I’m on track for that and the question is a little bit out of left field.

“But maybe that minority is starting to get its voice heard. But I hope there’s enough people out there and people in the media who realise what a difficult job it was to keep Chester up this season. If you don’t, go out there and say it.

“There’s a noisy minority but there’s also a silent majority who appreciate what we’ve done here and we’ve now kept this club in the National League for the past two years, which is no tall order.”

The Blues wrap up their National League campaign on Saturday with the visit of Boreham Wood (12.15pm).

York City’s draw at Woking and Braintree Town’s loss to Barrow on Saturday all but secured the Blues’ status in non-league football’s top tier for another season.