Whitstable travel to high-flying Leatherhead on Saturday with manager Nicky Southall insisting his side have already proved they can compete with the best in Ryman League, Division 1 South.

For justification, Southall pointed to last Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat by leaders Walton Casuals.

He said: “Their manager said to me we were the best side they had played and that shows you how far we have come in a short space of time.

“Afterwards, I said to the lads, ‘they are top of the league and if playing like that doesn’t give you enough confidence to go and show people that you are in a false position, I don’t know what will.’

“That said, Leatherhead are one of the form teams at the moment and they’ve got one or two people who can put the ball in the net regularly, which is the one thing we are missing at the moment.”

Southall will be without two players on Saturday. Skipper James Morrish is attending a family wedding in Florida and winger Jake MacKenzie has work commitments.