Ray Turner says Faversham’s trip to Walton & Hersham on Saturday could determine whether his side are battling at the top-of-the-table or jockeying in mid-table come November.

Town’s dismal run of seven games without a win in all competitions came to an end with a 5-3 victory over Chipstead on Saturday, and Turner is not too dismayed by the effect the sequence had on their standing in Ryman League Division 1 South.

Two draws and a defeat during that streak saw Town lose some ground, but they remain just nine points off top spot in seventh, three points and three places outside the play-offs with a game in hand, despite Wednesday night’s 2-0 defeat at Burgess Hill.

Faversham boss Turner said: “We have a couple of big games coming up at the start of November against Guernsey and Folkestone.

“Our results at Burgess Hill and Walton & Hersham on Saturday will go a long way to determining what shape we’re in. We could be going into those games sat third or just as easily 10th.

“I’m really not sure where we are yet. It’s difficult to tell and the table still hasn’t settled down yet.”

Not since the turn of August to September have Town recorded the same result in successive games and Turner added: “The biggest thing we could do to help ourselves is to string some results together.”

Luke Harvey returns from suspension at Walton & Hersham, while Turner will assess his players after the Burgess Hill game.

Turner said: “For the first time this season I was able to name the same side for consecutive games this week, which shows the disruption we have had over the course of 17 or 18 games. We are starting to get back on track.

“We could have had five or six goals in each of our last couple of games, the only thing is that we have been a bit sloppy with some of our defending.”

He added: “Walton & Hersham’s not my favourite place to go, in football terms. You’re stuck with the athletics track and the first goal is really important there because they can be very frustrating there if they get themselves a lead to defend.”

One positive for Turner was a decent turnout against Chipstead. He said: “A crowd of 171 against Chipstead is a massive improvement – I think that’s 50 or so more than last year.”