Harry Kyprianou wants Maidstone to use their FA Cup experience to fuel a National League South promotion push.

The Stones beat three higher-division sides in Barrow, Stevenage and Ipswich en route to the fifth round.

They held their own, and then some, against better opponents before bowing out 5-0 at Coventry on Monday.

United have to deliver back at their own level as they bid to clinch a play-off place.

They’re three points outside the top seven in ninth place going into Saturday’s Kent derby at Dover (3pm).

Defender Kyprianou said: “The main thing we showed as a team, and also individually, is that we are more than capable of giving anyone a good game on our day.

“For us, it’s a matter of doing it consistently.

“You don’t just want to rise to the occasion.

“Part of being a good team is about finding that consistency and I think that’s the challenge.

“Playing against these league teams, yes, we’ve learned stuff about ourselves and how they play and maybe we can take some of their good attributes and bring it into our own game.

“It’s about finding that consistency when it’s not the third or fourth round of the FA Cup.

“Every single league game is massively important if we want to try and achieve anything, which we do.

“I’m not saying it’s easy to find that level of the thrill of the big crowd and the tie but every game is really important and we have to get back to good form in the league.”

Kyprianou felt Maidstone needed to stay in the game longer to have any chance of beating Coventry.

It was a trick they pulled off at Ipswich in round four before scoring with their only two shots.

But the Sky Blues led 2-0 inside 14 minutes and there was no way back.

“The first thing was disappointment that we didn’t stay in the game for longer,” said Kyprianou.

“If we’d ridden that wave for the first 15/20 minutes and managed to go without conceding, you never know.

“It’s all ifs and buts but I felt we could have given them a good game.

“I don’t think they were as good as Ipswich, in truth, even though the scoreline would suggest otherwise, but I don’t think they were as complete a team.

“The goals could have been prevented, like any goal, but we needed to stay in the game as long as possible and that wasn’t how it played out.

“Even at Ipswich we rode our luck in that first period.

“You know Coventry are going to be bright, probably a bit sharper than we are, and they play at that intensity every week.

“If you can get through that early stage and get to grips with the speed of the game and manage that, who knows what might happen? But it wasn’t to be.”

The initial disappointment was soon overtaken by pride at Maidstone’s success in reaching round five as a sixth-tier side.

Players celebrated with fans behind the goal well after the Coventry players had left the field.

That was followed in the dressing room by a rousing speech from manager George Elokobi.

“It’s hard to believe how far we went,” said Kyprianou. “It’s insane. Maybe it hasn’t sunk in.

“When you try and get a feel for what we’ve done, the only way you do that is to look at the history.

“It’s the first time in 46 years that a club from our level has got to the fifth round.

“The other thing that should be considered is we’re not a Wrexham from last year or a Notts County from last year where you can say, ‘OK, they’re non-league but their budget is probably better than a League 1 team’.

“We’re a sustainably-run Conference South team and when you consider that, it’s even more credit to us for what we achieved as a club and a community.

“After the game, it was special for us, for the fans and our families.

“When you play for a club like Maidstone or support a club like Maidstone, you don’t expect to be in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

“It was about trying to take it all in and cherish the moment.

“The gaffer afterwards, he just finds the right words.

“I go back to the summer when we first spoke and the time he took to give me a call and invite me in to come and train.

“Even from the first conversation, I realised he’s a unique manager in his approach.

“We were on the phone for almost an hour.

“I was a player he was aware of but we hadn’t met directly.

“The gaffer and Craig (Fagan, assistant manager) and the staff are so hardworking and that’s always going to be contagious for us as players.

“We know we have to match their determination and their willingness.

“We’ve got a real togetherness and after the game we were all immensely proud of what we’ve achieved.”