Jay Saunders could soon be knocking on the chairman’s door after Tonbridge closed in on the National South play-off places.

Angels moved on to 40 points after beating Kent rivals Dover 4-0 at Longmead on Tuesday.

They’re only two points off the top seven, in 10th place, and five points shy of boss Saunders’ initial aim for the season.

Then it’ll be a question of whether his ultimate ambition - a place in the play-offs - is a realistic target.

Angels host Braintree on Saturday (3pm), with the visitors ahead of Saunders’ side on goal difference.

“Every season I think can I get promoted?” said Saunders.

“That’s how football should work.

“I’ve said all along if you’re happy to stay up or be in mid-table, there’s no ambition.

“I know everyone’s got their targets but you’re in football to try and win leagues and get promoted.

“When I said about trying to make the play-offs before the season started, a lot of people probably thought it would be beyond us.

“It might well be, considering we’re a new team, with a new pitch, a new everything really, but you’ve got to try and set targets.

“The first thing was to get to 45 points as quickly as possible and once you’ve got that, you go, ‘Right, are we in touching distance of the play-offs?’

“If we are, I’ll be knocking on the chairman’s door to see if we can improve and try to kick on.

“If not, you go, ‘OK, let’s build for next season.’”

Tonbridge produced one of their best displays this season in completing the double over Dover.

Joe Turner opened the scoring and Jordan Greenidge struck twice for the third successive match before Jack Wood added a late fourth.

“We were really good on the night,” said Saunders.

“We gave the players instructions and, to be fair, they followed them to a man.

“We were solid defensively and caused problems going forward. It’s always nice to win a derby.

“The front two - Joe and Jordan - were a handful.

“We’ve been looking to play Joe more central.

“We did it at Dartford earlier in the season and we put him up there with Jordan at St Albans last week.

“We decided to stick with it against Dover and it’s given him a new lease of life.

“He’s played the majority of his football out wide but he enjoys being central.

“He’s always scored goals over the years but it gives him a bit more freedom.

“He’s a fit lad, with pace, and he covers a lot of ground. He cares about his football, he’s always asking questions and wanting to improve.”

The clean sheet - Saunders having switched to a back three in the past couple of weeks - was also well-deserved.

He’s been keen to tighten up defensively without sacrificing Angels’ commitment to attack.

Saunders said: “We’ve still got to work on things but the three games we've gone with this formation - Ebbsfleet, St Albans and Dover - we’ve won.

“It’s something that’s made us more solid.

“I was looking at the table when I got to the ground on Tuesday and we were the only team in the top 12 with a minus goal difference.

“If we’d defended better as a team - it’s not about digging out individuals - I honestly think we’d be sitting in the play-offs."

Young defender Joe Tyrie has joined Isthmian South East Sittingbourne on a month’s loan.

He scored on his debut in a 2-0 win at VCD on Tuesday night.