Gillingham dropped to 11th in the League Two standings following a home defeat against Newport County.
The Gills have failed to pick up a single point out of the last available 15, with pressure now building on Mark Bonner and his squad.
The hosts had much of the ball but failed to create any real chances; Newport made theirs count. Ex-Gillingham academy player Matt Baker put the Exiles ahead with a volley into the opposite corner from a free-kick just short of the byline.
6'9" striker Kyle Hudlin doubled the advantage for the visitors. Bobby Kamwa received the ball on the right wing from a counter-attacking move and found Hudlin in the box, who set himself before striking past Jake Turner.
Here are four things to take away from Tuesday's action.
Five losses on the bounce
The loss under the lights made it five consecutive defeats for the Gills, matching their longest run of the past two decades. It is a huge contrast to Gillingham's start to the campaign, in which they won six of their first eight.
At the start of the month, the Kentish side were sitting top of League Two by a point, but defeats against Grimsby, Crewe, Accrington, Bradford and Newport leave the them in 11th, eight points off the table-topping Port Vale.
Bonner takes his side to rivals Swindon Town on Saturday, and a loss would be the first time they've lost six on the spin in 20 years. For context, Gillingham were playing Championship football at that time.
Poor in both boxes
A defence that was unbreakable by many teams at the start of the season is now becoming easy to play against - through set pieces and counter-attacks.
On Tuesday, Newport had just four attempts on goal with an xG of 0.4, yet netted twice. Gillingham's goalscoring problems of recent years have also continued into this term, converting just twice in their last five games. As many as 25 shots against Newport resulted in another blank for the Gillingham attack.
After such a great start to the season, they have well and truly been found out by other teams in League Two, leaving big decisions to Mark Bonner on how to get the team out of this rout. A 4-2-3-1 has been the manager's preferred formation in his tenure so far; could a system change be inbound?
Injuries playing their part
Gillingham's run of form could be down to the large number of injuries in the squad.
The Gills have been heavily hit by injury, with key players such as Armani Little, Robbie McKenzie and Elliott Nevitt currently sidelined.
A big part of Gillingham's problems is down to their current midfield options. When Little and McKenzie were the pairing in the middle, they were constantly looking to play the ball forward and taking risks. Not having the spine of the team available could be the root of their problems.
Mark Bonner will be frustrated with the vast amount of injuries sustained this season; whether Gillingham can start getting players back on the training pitch could be a huge factor in getting their campaign back on track.
Is the manager the problem at Gillingham?
Since Brad Galinson completed his takeover of the club in December 2022, Gillingham have struggled to match the high expectations, which has led to Neil Harris and Stephen Clemence losing their jobs in Medway.
In the 2022/23 season under Harris, Gillingham had a goals per game of 0.8, and the following season under Harris and Clemence, that stat was slightly increased to one goal per game. Mark Bonner’s team currently looks no different to his predecessors, asking the question of whether the manager is actually the problem at Gillingham.
The core of those squads has remained similar during those tenures, with a large majority joining just after the takeover. If Gills are to make a proper bid for promotion to League One, a big squad overhaul could be needed instead of constantly changing the man at the helm.
