Nick Davis will cast his recruitment net far and wide to bring the glory days back to Ramsgate.

Davis, having succeeded Lloyd Blackman in the Southwood hotseat, has already identified areas where his squad needs strengthening.

He believes the model which made the club successful in the past can work again.

Davis said: “I was there 2007/08, the year we made the Ryman Premier play-offs.

“We won the League Cup and lost one game at home so it’s probably the pinnacle of the last 30 years for the club.

“It was a great time and there is potential here. Our location can be an advantage and a disadvantage.

“It’s key to have a lot of homegrown players and Lloyd did a great job in helping bring some of these youngsters through.

“There are some really exciting youngsters at the club and if we could have all local players, we would but it’s just feasible to work like that.

“There’s not the strength in depth locally so you have to go outside the area to bring other players in.

“If I look back to the successful times Ramsgate had, even the early Jim Ward days, the likes of Paul Foley and Dean Bowey travelled down from London with the core of local players they had at the time.

“They did the double in the old Kent League days and more recently, I was travelling down with the likes of Lee Minshull, Steffan Bull and Jay May to play with the Vahid brothers and the Schulz brothers who were already there, the core of the local players.

“It’s really difficult to get the balance right but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to.”

Ramsgate lost 3-1 at home to Ashford on Saturday in Davis’ first match in charge.

“It was a really tough start for me,” he said. “Ashford are one of the better sides in the league but in a way it was good to be up against a good side because sometimes it can paper over the cracks when you’re playing a lesser side.

“There were some positives but it also underlined the weaknesses we have which hopefully I can address over the coming weeks and months.

“Everyone will get a fair chance and it’s a blank canvas. As a squad, we’re strong in some areas and less so in others. I’ve got to address that and give us more balance.”

Ramsgate’s next game is away to Whitstable on Boxing Day and they finish the year at home to Faversham on Saturday, December 29. Both games kick off at 3pm.