Steve Watt feels Hythe have benefited from a couple of weeks off as they prepare to return to action.

The Cannons haven’t played since going out of the FA Trophy on penalties at Welywn Garden City on September 25.

After a couple of blank weekends they host Three Bridges in Isthmian South East this Saturday, with Hastings the visitors on Tuesday.

Cannons manager Watt said: “We couldn’t get any games brought forward but the break has given a couple of players carrying niggles a chance to come back.

“We’ll have Frannie Collin and Tom Wynter back, which is good, and we look forward to a busy October.

“The games are coming thick and fast and if we can win our games in hand, it puts us in a great position.

“Some of the teams around us have played eight or nine games, and we’ve only played five, but they haven’t got away from us.

“If we’re winning these games in hand, we’ll be climbing quickly but every game is tough.

“Three Bridges are above us at the moment and I still make Hastings title favourites.

“The league this season is one of the most competitive since I’ve been involved in it.

“You only have to look at the table and you can see there’s not one team pulling away from the rest.

“If you’re not firing on all cylinders every week, you’ll lose games.

“We have to approach every game the right way and do the basics right.

“If we do that, we’ve got the quality to win games but you can’t overlook anyone in this league.”

Watt was a player-coach at Hastings five years ago.

His spell included one of the more surreal moments of his career, with the big centre-half bagging a hat-trick in a 4-4 draw at Carshalton.

“I couldn’t enjoy it at the time,” said Watt.

“We were 3-1 up at half-time and 4-3 down 10 minutes into the second half.

“My hat-trick goal made it 4-4 but I wasn’t best pleased.

“I can look back and enjoy it now but at the time I was more disappointed with the situation we’d put ourselves in.

“I had a good half a season at Hastings with Darren Hare before taking the Margate job.

"They lost in the play-off semi-finals to Dorking that season, which was a game I went and watched.

“I like to see all my old clubs do well and Hastings are no exception, just not on Tuesday.”

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