Phoenix Sports have surprised plenty of people this season - including themselves.

The Bexleyheath-based club, who were only promoted to the Southern Counties East League in 2013, are four points clear at the top of the table and pushing for promotion to the Ryman League.

They're one of only two senior teams in England yet to lose a league game this season, along with Burgess Hill Town of Ryman League Division 1 South.

Phoenix manager Steve O'Boyle said: "It’s been a fantastic season. We hit the ground running, really.

"We had Greenwich Borough in the first game of the season, the fancied side, but we beat them 1-0 and it’s gone on from there. We’re going into February still undefeated, which is unthinkable.

"We brought in a load of players in the summer and for some reason, they’ve just gelled. We’ve got a really tight unit. It’s not always the best players in the league, it’s about having the best team – and we are a team. There are no superstars here. They all got on well, we’ve got a very good dressing-room and it seems to have worked.

"We’ve got a very good defensive record as well – eight goals conceded in the league and 21 clean sheets. That’s a fantastic record, and when we do go 1-0 up, I think sometimes people think the game’s over. It’s a fantastic record and let’s hope it continues."

Andy Mortlock has been Phoenix chairman for 12 years and he's seen the club climb from the bottom of the Kent County League to the verge of the Ryman League during that time.

He said: "When I got involved, we had a fantastic junior section but the senior section was going nowhere.

"We had a decent committee put together and it is a team of us – myself, Steve House the vice-chairman, and then we had some guys on the committee, Alf Levy and Phil Leeds, who had some good experience at that level and knowing about senior football. They had a vision and said ‘this is what needs to be done’.

"We’re not a club with a wealth of money, we don’t have any millionaires here but we put a plan together of how we could do it and we got to the Kent Invicta League three seasons ago, when it started. We came out of the Kent County League Premier Division.

"Then we had an ex-player, Scott Saunders, who got us to finish second in the Kent Invicta League and then three seasons ago, Steve O’Boyle and Tony Beckingham came in. In their first season, they won the Kent Invicta League which was a great season for us.

"Last season, our first season in the Southern Counties East Football League, they finished sixth and this season, it’s just been a tremendous achievement. To be unbeaten in the league at this stage, it’s just a great roll.

"Steve’s pulled together a squad of players with some youth and some experience and the squad has gelled. Everyone’s excited, the crowds are growing each week, people are coming down and people are starting to talk about Phoenix in the Kent area.

"We’re in an area where there are a lot of good non-league clubs. VCD, who had a fantastic season last season and went to the Ryman Premier, are just across the road and you’ve got teams like Thamesmead Town who are very close, also in the Ryman League. You’ve got bigger clubs like Welling United and Dartford as well, so this is quite a hotbed for non-league.

"But people are starting to talk about Phoenix Sports Club now as, potentially, a Ryman League club. We’re attracting players now. Before, players were more attracted to the other clubs but now we’re finding people – at all levels, even in our junior sides – talking about Phoenix and wanting to play for Phoenix."

O'Boyle, who joined Thamesmead as a 12-year-old and ended up managing their reserve side, agrees.

He said: "We’re getting half-decent crowds here now. When we played Erith & Belvedere, I think they lost count on the gate how many we had. It was rammo here, I think there was 350-plus here. For a club that was in Kent County League Division 2, six or seven years ago, the crowds we’re getting now are fantastic.

"I’m Thamesmead through and through but we get bigger crowds than Thamesmead. I think we get bigger crowds than VCD, who are just over the road. Thamesmead are a division higher and VCD are two above us.

"I think the reason behind it is that people like coming here. It’s a friendly club and people like coming into our clubhouse. I think that’s a big reason why we do get half-decent crowds. I want it to improve. If we can start getting 150 rather than 100, it’ll all help. But it’s a great achievement by the club this year and let’s hope it continues."

But promotion is only possible if the club's Mayplace Ground meets Ryman League grading standards by March 31. Work is being done to build a new covered stand, which will bring the seating capacity up to 250, while more hard standing, an outside toilet block and a second turnstile must also be in place to beat the deadline.

Mr Mortlock said: "We’re all pinching ourselves at the moment. We were looking to have a similar season to last season - but the team have exceeded our expectations.

"To see the progression of the senior section and the junior section, it’s just great. We’ve got a lot of work going on at the moment to improve the facilities so the club can move up to the next level, Step 4, the Ryman League."

O'Boyle said: "It wasn’t planned this year and there wouldn’t have been any ground work – but with the season we’re having (there is). The club have backed us 100% by doing the ground work so if we do win it, the ground is ready to go up.

"I’ve got a confident bunch of players and they think they can win the league now. At the start of the season, our aim was probably to win a cup maybe and finish as high as we could in the league.

"But now there is a belief that we can win the league and they’ve got their minds set on that now. We’re in countdown mode, really, chalking them off, win by win."

Special report part 2: Phoenix dreaming of Wembley ahead of huge FA Vase away day