diff --git a/.drone.yml b/.drone.yml
index b3109d2..2b533ee 100644
--- a/.drone.yml
+++ b/.drone.yml
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ clone:
   disable: false
 
 steps:
+  - name: git ssl fix
+    image: drone/git
+    commands:
+      # Disable SSL verification for self-signed Gitea cert
+      - git config --global http.sslVerify false
+
   - name: dotnet restore
     image: mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0
     commands:
@@ -22,6 +28,7 @@ steps:
     image: mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0
     commands:
       - dotnet test --configuration Release
+
 ---
 kind: pipeline
 type: kubernetes
@@ -53,6 +60,7 @@ steps:
         from_secret: registry-password
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
       context: ./SampleApi/bin/Release/net8.0/publish/
+
 ---
 kind: pipeline
 type: kubernetes
@@ -77,5 +85,8 @@ steps:
       script:
         - set -euo pipefail
         - echo "Applying Kubernetes manifest via SSH..."
-        - cat ./manifests/deploy.yml | kubectl apply -f -
+        # Apply the manifest remotely via kubectl on the host
+        - ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no $DRONE_REMOTE_USER@lead.mngoma.lab 'kubectl apply -f -' <<'EOF'
+          $(cat ./manifests/deploy.yml)
+          EOF
         - echo "Manifest applied successfully."