A month ago the talk was of progress and promise for next season but things have back-tracked at an alarming rate for Chester FC.
Forest Green Rovers became the latest side to benefit from another performance lacking some of the basic requirements to compete in the Vanarama Conference.
Injuries and a poor showing from referee Ben Toner didn't help, but to defend as the Blues are at the moment is suicidal at this level of football.
From where the club was last term, to be safe with three games to go does represent progress but the current run underlines the amount of work still needed.
Following a horrible defeat at Bristol Rovers on Good Friday, Chester had a lot to prove in this game, both to manager Steve Burr and the supporters.
The submissive nature of that performance that was the biggest concern and a huge improvement was required to half an end of season slump.
Just one win and two draws from the past eight matches had resulted in Chester dropping back into the bottom half of the table.
Fans can accept defeat but won't accept players going through the motions, and there had been too much of that of late.
Burr said he would make changes and recalled Brad Abbott and captain Matty Brown with Ben Heneghan pushed into midfield.
Forest Green came into the game in sixth place having dropped out of the play-off positions with a 3-1 loss at home to Aldershot Town on Good Friday.
Rovers boss Adrian Pennock responded to that defeat with two changes. Rob Sinclair and Stuart Fleetwood replacing Clovis Kamdjo and James Norwood.
Chester needed to start well but those inside the ground hoping to see an improvement were not in for a pleasant afternoon.
The first-half turned into a disaster as Forest Green raced into a 3-0 lead with less than 25 minutes on the clock and serious injuries forced Michael Kay and Brown from the field.
Rovers hit the front on just six minutes when Kurtis Guthrie got behind the defence and went to ground under Brown's challenge with the referee pointing straight to the spot, although the defender argued he had taken the ball first.
Heavyweight forward Jon Parkin converted the penalty with confidence, sending Jon Worsnop the wrong way to put his team 1-0 up.
It was 2-0 in the 16th minute when left-back Marcus Kelly's excellent cross caught out Gareth Roberts and found Parkin, who placed his header between Worsnop's fingertips and the underside of the crossbar.
Abbott flashed a shot wide but the Blues were not at the races and things went from bad to worse on 22 minutes when Kay had to be replaced with a nasty cut following a clash with Parkin.
Heneghan dropped into the back four with McConville coming on but the visitors were in again seconds later.
Guthrie burst through a gap and although Worsnop pushed his shot onto the post, the ball fell for Elliott Frear, who kept his composure to fire home from eight yards.
Mr Toner wasn't endearing himself to the home fans, deciding not to punish Aarran Racine for flooring Abbott, but those frustrations couldn't mask another dire performance.
Rovers could have had a fourth when Guthrie broke down the left and couldn't quite find Frear with his pull back.
Burr was forced into another substitution on 43 minutes when Guthrie, who was fortunate to escape without a card, went over the ball on Brown, leaving the defender in a heap and having to be stretchered off.
Rooney replaced the skipper and gave his side hope in the closing moments of the first-half, swerving a free-kick past the unconvincing Arnold from the edge of the box to make the score 3-1 at the break.
Having given themselves an outside chance, the Blues managed to shoot themselves in the foot just three minutes into the second-half.
Kelly clipped a corner towards the six yard box where criminal defending allowed Racine the freedom to stick out a leg and steer the ball past Worsnop.
That banished hopes of a miracle comeback although Chester did create a couple of opportunities, Hughes poking just the wrong side of the post and Arnold tipping Rooney's curling shot over the bar.
Rovers had chances to increase the lead with Guthrie heading straight at Worsnop and Parkin denied a penalty when Heneghan hauled him down from behind.
The longer the game went on, the less capable the home side looked of repairing some of the damage caused in the first-half.
Chester FC: Worsnop, Higgins, Kay (McConville 22), Brown (Rooney 43), Roberts, Heneghan, Abbott, James, Mahon, McBurnie, Hughes.
Subs: Viscosi, Peers, Hobson.
Goal: Rooney 45.
Booked: McConville.
Forest Green Rovers: Arnold, Bennett, Clough, Racine, Kelly, Guthrie (Marwood 90), Pipe, Sinclair (Kamdjo 90), Frear (Bender 90), Fleetwood, Parkin.
Subs: Russell, Coles.
Goals: Parkin 6 (pen) and 16, Frear 23, Racine 48.
Booked: Pipe.
Referee: Ben Toner (Darwen).
Attendance: 1,911.
