Jamie Coyle says there’s no pressure on Ramsgate going into the Isthmian South East play-offs.

Rams face Hythe Town in the semi-finals at Southwood tonight (7.45pm) and boss Coyle has told his players to enjoy the occasion.

The Thanet side finished runners-up after a 2-1 win at Ashford on Saturday, guaranteeing home advantage in the play-offs.

Win tonight and they’ll host Whitehawk or Beckenham on Friday (7.45pm) for a place in the Isthmian Premier.

Rams find themselves in the play-offs after missing out on the title to Chatham.

Hythe, on the other hand, landed fifth place on the final day after a run of six straight wins.

“There’s no pressure on the players,” said Coyle, who’s lost just one of his 15 league games since succeeding Steve Lovell as manager.

“A lot of these boys have never experienced the play-offs before, so it’s something to look forward to. My key message to them is now you’re there, you’ve got to enjoy the occasion.

“There’s going to be over a thousand people there and even more if we get to the final.

“The only pressure is the pressure me and Nicky (Southall, assistant manager) put on ourselves because we really want to get this club promoted and achieve something.

“We’ve worked so hard since we came in to give ourselves the best opportunity to get out of this league and we’ve still got a really good opportunity to do that.

“The players just need to suck it up and enjoy it and play with freedom.

“They won’t feel the pressure at all.

“The league’s done and now we’ve got two games to try and get promoted.

“If we perform anywhere near our capability, and we stick together as we have done, there’s a good chance we’ll be celebrating on Friday.”

Ramsgate did the double over Hythe in the league - winning 2-1 at home and 1-0 away - but that means nothing tonight.

Coyle has nothing but respect for the Cannons and manager Steve Watt following their run to the play-offs.

The pair won the Isthmian Premier together at Maidstone, Coyle played under Watt at Hythe and the pair are good friends.

Hythe beat Haywards Heath 4-0 to take the final play-off spot, taking fifth place after Sheppey’s injury-time equaliser at Cray Valley.

They’re one of the toughest sides to face, boasting the best defensive record in the league, with only 34 goals conceded in 38 games.

Coyle knows what’s in store tonight.

He said: “I was expecting to play Cray Valley or Sheppey but Hythe have done excellent.

“It’s going to be a big occasion and I think it will be a really good game.

“Watty’s a good pal of mine and someone I’ve always stayed in touch with.

“We were team-mates, we work in similar field - he coaches in an academy and so do I - and we live in the same town as well.

“He got me out of retirement to play for Hythe and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

“I don’t think we’ve competed against each other as managers.

“It’ll be nice to do battle together and I’m sure Watty feels the same.

“He always makes sure he’s got a good changing room and that’s one of the main reasons why they’ve achieved what they have, similar to ourselves.

“They’re a real tough nut to crack, they really are, and they’ve got a group of players who are together, on and off the pitch.

“They’re well organised and they’ve got a lot of threats - they’re physical, they’ve got mobility in the team and the long throw - but hopefully we’ll be able to concentrate on ourselves because we know we can cause anyone in this league, and the league above, problems on our day.

“The two league games mean nothing at all.

“There’s been changes from the last time we played and Hythe have been on fantastic run to get where they are.

“The players can take a little confidence from winning the league games but you can come undone if you’re over-confident.

“We’ve got to prepare right and play the right way, knowing we’re up against the form team in the division.

“For any team to win six matches on the bounce is a great achievement.

“It’s testament to the management team, as well as the players.”

Rowan Liburd and Ashley Miller scored as Rams finished the regular season with victory at Ashford.

Coyle is proud of his side after finishing runners-up, whatever happens in the play-offs.

He said: “We’ve scored the most goals (72) and lost the least amount of games (six) of any team in the league.

“It’s only the amount of draws we’ve had (12) that have been the stumbling block and stopped us from winning the league but we’ve got to be proud of what we’ve achieved and I’ve told the players that.

“It was a difficult league this year, with a lot of good sides, and we’ve finished second.

“Hopefully, we can finish the job in the play-offs.”