Ian Cox says Whitstable’s performance in Monday’s surprise derby win at Herne Bay has set a standard they must maintain for the rest of their Ryman League Division 1 South campaign.

Town, the league’s bottom club, ended a run of six successive away defeats with their 2-0 success – but with just four wins from 28 matches they still face a huge task to preserve their Ryman status.

Joint boss Cox described the display at Winch’s Field as “outstanding” but says his players need to reproduce the same level of effort and commitment for the remaining 18 games, starting at home to Chatham on Saturday.

Cox said: “We’re over the moon (with the win) but equally we have to keep our feet on the ground because one swallow does not make a summer.

“This result won’t make or break our season but we need to use it as a platform to build on. We are still in a critical position and we need to perform every week and get as many points as possible from the remaining 18 games.”

Keeper Dan Eason was the undoubted star of the show and Cox said he thought Dean Grant’s third-minute opener was crucial to their success.

He added:”It’s always nice to get an early goal to settle the nerves down and it gave the boys something to hold onto.”

Saturday’s visitors Chatham are also in the lower reaches of the table but Cox says that does not mean he will be taking anything for granted.

He added: “We’ll go into the game with the same mindset and attitude but history has shown that over the course of this season we’ve won one game and then gone a period of time without winning another so now the challenge is we’ve won today can we go and get some points on Saturday.

“We’re under no illusion about what we have to do (to stay up) but if we can have the level of performance that we’ve had today and take it forward for the rest of the season then hopefully we won’t be too far off.”