New boss Clive Cook says he has not finished reshaping his Hythe squad, despite a ‘ridiculous’ turnover of more than 30 players in the past four weeks.

Cook took sole charge for the first time for Tuesday night’s 3-0 win at Whitstable following the exit of joint-manager Tony Beckingham on the eve of the game.

Cook says his appointment ‘simplifies things, without a doubt’ at Reachfields, and admitted the four weeks since Tim Dixon was sacked as Cannons boss had been ‘difficult.’

He said: “I was very pleased with the win after what’s gone on. The last four weeks have been difficult, we have changed around the whole squad.

“It’s been ridiculous - I think 18 players out and 14 or 15 in. You have got to gel that, I’m lucky to have people around me to do that.

“I haven’t finished yet with ins, I have got a couple more to bring over the line and that’s it. They are important to how we want to play in different ways, and with a lot of games coming up.

“I’m not happy in certain areas but the squad is developing well. The atmosphere is very good, they’re a tight unit and the work-rate is immense.”

Cook wouldn’t be drawn on the fallout from Beckingham’s departure, adding: “The chairman and the board have been very good and they have stuck with me, shown me great support. You can’t ask for more than that.

“It simplifies things without a doubt. I want to talk about football, I don’t want to talk about what went on, it didn’t work, and that’s it. It happened so quickly and me and (assistant, Mark Lane) were on the phone til 11pm on Monday and all day on Tuesday before the game.”

Frankie Sawyer put Town ahead inside a minute against a Whitstable side reeling from Saturday’s 8-0 reverse against Walton Casuals, while Ben Lewis and Nick Reeves netted in the final half-hour to confirm the gulf between the sides.

Cook said: “I’d have taken 3-0 all day long, but saying that I thought we should have been 3-0 up by half-time. We dominated the first-half, we were very disciplined.

"We’ve been letting in stupid goals, dominating games and then bang, conceding. We spoke about that.

"Second-half they came at us and dominated the game for 15 or 20 minutes, though they didn’t create anything."

He added: "We looked very solid - when I was with Scott Porter we always set out to be a hard team to beat and it felt like that - we didn’t look like conceding. We spoke about work-rate before the game and I thought it was excellent.

"You have got to win games, no matter who you are playing. The 8-0 didn’t bother me because I knew they’d be a different side and mentality, the way they set up - they are not a bottom-three side."

Hythe have seven points from a possible nine and now sit 10 points clear of the drop-zone ahead of the visit of Carshalton on Saturday (3pm) where Cook expects striker Alfie May to return after missing four games through injury.

He said: “You get the quality of someone like him coming back and it gives everyone a lift.”