Rowan Liburd made it back-to-back hat-tricks to keep Ramsgate on course for the Isthmian South East title.

Liburd came off the bench to score a nine-minute treble as Ramsgate beat East Grinstead 5-0 last weekend.

Handed a start at Corinthian on Saturday, he was at it again as Jamie Coyle’s side maintained their four-point lead over Chatham with just six games to go.

Liburd took time to find his feet after joining from Cheshunt for an undisclosed fee in January.

But Rams’ work with the big striker is paying off at a crucial stage of the season.

“He got dropped two weeks ago,” said Coyle. “We had a chat about what we need from him and what he needs from us in terms of the way he plays and the way we play.

“Maybe it helped leaving him out. We’ve got real competition for places and sometimes players just need to refocus.

“His reaction last Saturday was outstanding. That got him his shirt back for Saturday, and he did the same again. It’s real good timing, for him and for us.

“We know what he’s capable of. I played against him many times at Maidstone and he was always a threat.

“He’s one of the most professional lads I’ve worked with in terms of his attitude and the way he trains.

“We’ve spoken a lot on the training pitch about how we feed him and getting him to operate in central areas.

“A lot of his work when he first came in was in wide areas so we weren’t getting him in the right positions to score goals or get opportunities.

“He’s taken on board what we’ve worked on and scored six goals in two games.

“There’s never been any doubts about his ability or his attitude.

“It’s just been making sure we’re getting him in the right areas and supplying the right service.

“We weren’t doing that, hence why he wasn’t getting many goals.

“He’s got the bit between his teeth now and when you’re scoring goals it’s good for confidence and motivation and we’re getting a real good Ro.”

The Corinthian match was far from a classic but Ramsgate came though another test of their title credentials.

Victory made it 10 games unbeaten in all competitions since Coyle succeeded Steve Lovell.

“It was a game to forget, to be honest,” said Coyle.

“I thought it would be one of our biggest tests since I’ve been in charge.

“We had a lot of rain and the pitch wasn’t great.

“We’ve had a lot of games on 3G, which suits how we play, and we’ve had to turn up against a team who are fighting for their lives and make sure we apply ourselves right.

“It wasn’t one of our best performances but results are more important than performances at this stage of the season.”

Ramsgate are aiming to take another step towards the championship when they host Haywards Heath at Southwood this Saturday (3pm).

“We’re just trying to tick the games off,” said Coyle. “We’re working on a game-by-game basis.

“We’ve got everyone available - two players didn’t make the squad on Saturday - so that’s come at a good time.

“It’s really important everyone performs and does their jobs because competition for places is fierce.

“Every game we need to select a squad that goes out and applies itself the right way and gets three points by any means.

“We’ve dropped a lot of points from drawing games but to go 10 unbeaten - including against a National South side in the Kent Senior Cup in Tonbridge - is testament to the boys.”

Kane Rowland scored twice, with Gil Carvalho and Blaise Riley-Snow also on target as much-changed Rams beat Tonbridge 4-3 in the Kent Senior Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday last week.

They visit Thanet rivals Margate in the semi-finals next month.