Tommy Warrilow says every goal and every point will count in the final six games as Ashford bid to clinch an Isthmian South East play-off place.

The Nuts & Bolts bounced back from a 5-1 defeat at Cray Valley by edging Hythe 1-0 at Homelands on Saturday thanks to Gary Lockyer’s 76th-minute winner.

Victory kept them three points behind Valley, who occupy the final play-off spot, with all to play for.

Warrilow’s side are at East Grinstead this Saturday (3pm) looking to build on their win over play-off rivals Hythe.

“It’s important we don’t lose that game,” said boss Warrilow. “Even a draw isn’t the end of the world.

“You get to this stage of the season and every goal counts and every point counts. That’s how tight it is.

“If anyone thinks they know who’s going to win the league and who’s going to be in the play-offs, good luck to them.

“They’ve got more insight than me, that’s all I can say.

“I’ll never stop banging the drum. It’s targets, targets, targets, keep going, keep going, keep going.

“Life isn’t easy. Life’s not like that. You get ups, you get downs; you get good times, you get bad times.

“We had a bad time at Cray Valley last week and we bounced back with a good time against Hythe.

“Now we go to East Grinstead and it’s important we don’t undo all our good work against Hythe, especially with teams around us playing each other.

“We’d been on a really good run before Cray Valley.

“I think we’re one defeat in nine now, which isn’t bad.

“Will there be another bump in the road? I hope not but if there is you can bet there will be bumps in the road for other clubs as well. That’s the story of this season.

“With six games to go it’s normally done and dusted.

“You normally know who’s going to win the league, who’s going to be in the play-offs and who’s going down but, at the moment, most teams are still playing for something.

“All I’m looking at is my squad, from 1 to 17, and concentrating on each game that’s put in front of us.”

The Hythe game was every bit as tight as expected, with Lockyer meeting Rhyle Ovenden’s cross for the only goal.

Warrilow pulled off a masterstroke by naming the same side who were thumped at Cray Valley.

That’s almost unheard of these days, with heavy defeats normally followed by sweeping changes.

Warrilow kept things as they were and his side dug in to take the points against a Cannons outfit who have been one of the form sides in the division.

“I’ve watched the game back and I thought we were all right,” said Warrilow.

“We went long, we went short; we used long throws, we used set-pieces.

“It was a blood-and-thunder local derby, not one for the purists, but the most important thing was to get three points.

“We knew what the game would be about and it was exactly as we thought it would be. Fair play to the lads for getting the result.

“We spoke about what happened against Cray Valley. It wasn’t about shouting and hollering, it was to get some constructive criticism into the boys without going over the top.

“I picked exactly the same side, so there were no scapegoats, and we turned up and dug in against a side who have caused teams loads of problems this year.

“If you asked the question last week who had a good game against Cray Valley, two or three might have been able to say they did all right.

“With that in mind, I didn’t think it would be fair to drop one or two and start picking people out, so I kept it as it was and they’ve gone out there and got a result.”

The only downside for Ashford was a last-minute red card for defender Ben Gorham after picking up a second booking.

It was his second dismissal this season and he starts a three-game ban at East Grinstead.