Hythe are out to keep Sheppey dangerman Warren Mfula quiet again this weekend.

Cannons boss Steve Watt knows all about the qualities of the Ites’ 21-goal top scorer, having tried to sign him several years ago while in charge at Margate.

Watt’s side were 1-0 winners against the Ites at Reachfields last month, restricting Mfula’s threat.

He’s one to look out for when the return game takes place at Holm Park this Saturday (3pm).

Sheppey are a team in form, having won their past three games in Isthmian South East, a run that’s put them on the fringes of the play-offs.

“Mfula is someone I tried to sign all those years ago at Margate,” said Watt, who saw his side’s home game against Corinthian on Saturday postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

“He came in for a session but Dartford got involved and they took him.

“I’ve always liked him as a player and he always carries that goal threat. He’s a real handful.

“He had one good chance at our place that he probably should have scored but, other than that, we marshalled him well and restricted him well.

“A player like that will always get chances, it’s minimising those chances that’s important because if he keeps getting in you know he’ll take one or two.

“For me, I always like to identify key threats in the opposition and try and nullify them to give us a platform to go on and win the game.

“That’s what we did at Faversham in our last game (1-0 win on January 2).

“We spoke about their front four and their threat from set-pieces with Matt Bourne and Ollie Gray in the side and we nullified them.”

Watt is looking to strengthen his squad to help Hythe through a busy month packed with midweek fixtures, including a home game against Burgess Hill on Tuesday (7.45pm).

“We’ve got five or six weeks of playing Saturday-Tuesday, which is difficult with a thin squad and not much money to spend,” said Watt.

“We’ll try and get some players in on dual-reg. It’ll be a case of getting some favours in, just in case of any injuries, which there probably will be when we’ve got so many games to play with a small squad.”