Jamie Coyle is urging Whitstable’s travelling fans to make their FA Vase tie feel like a home match.

The Oystermen are off to in-form Eastern Counties League Premier Division team Walsham Le Willows in round four on Saturday.

With the Willows only attracting relatively modest crowds despite being on a four-game winning run, player-manager Coyle has encouraged the Whitstable faithful who embark on the 270-mile journey to take over in Suffolk.

He said: “We have seen a couple of their games.

“We actually sent someone to watch them on Saturday but it was cancelled! We’ve still managed to see two of their games on VEO [highlights].

“It would have been ideal for someone to see them for us on Saturday, but we cannot do anything about that.

“They have picked up a bit - like we have - because, when the draw was made, they were only in mid-table. We have looked at their strengths but also the areas where we can counteract them.

“We have got a lot of fans travelling, as well, so we’ll try to turn it into a home game for us. I think they only average crowds of about 70.

“It’s going to be a good tie and we will go into it with lots of confidence.”

The victors will earn £1,875 and move a step closer to a potential final at Wembley, with the Oystermen now also finding form in the Southern Counties East Premier Division after a tough start to the season.

Coyle said: “Our fans deserve a good cup run.

"They have stuck by us, even with our slow start to the season.

“They have been really patient with us as a management team and as a squad. This is the furthest the club has been in many years but we want to go further.

“We want to go through to the next round and, hopefully, get a home draw. It does add excitement and we want to keep going.

“I really do believe that we have got a good chance of going a long way in the competition this year.”

But Whitstable will be without the cup-tied Dean Grant and Liam Gillies once more while defender Will Thomas misses out due to suspension.

“Although we’ve been settled, we need to make at least three or four changes on Saturday to the squad due to suspension and cup-tied players,” said Coyle.

“But we have done that in the last few rounds and beaten the favourites to win the Vase (Jersey Bulls), which shows the strength-in-depth we have got in the squad.”

Whitstable will head into the Vase tie on the back of last weekend’s 2-0 league home victory over Stansfeld, which came thanks to goals from midfielder Liam Gillies and Coyle himself after Dartford loanee Ashdon Day had to come off after just five minutes.

The veteran defender said: “It was a stop-start game.

“Ashdon had to come off early on after he rolled his ankle and Mikey Dalton came off so we struggled to get into any rhythm in the game.

“But we were solid defensively, which was good. I think they only had one shot on goal.

“In terms of performance levels, it wasn’t brilliant but the most important thing is picking up as many points as we can before the end of the season so we’re in and around the play-off places, and we did that.”

Midfielder Gillies’ goal was his third in five fixtures.

“He’s been fantastic,” admitted Coyle. “I spoke a few weeks ago about needing more goals and more assists from midfield.

“The boys have been brilliant since then and people like Liam have really stepped up. There’s been a lot more creativity coming from our midfield, which is a really positive sign.

“Obviously, I scored from a set-piece on Saturday - and I should have had a hat-trick! I had one cleared off the line and put one over the crossbar that I should have done better with.

“But we’re getting a lot of first and second contacts so that’s really pleasing because we can-not just rely on the forward players to score goals.”

The Oystermen are still only in mid-table, though, and some way off the play-off positions.

But Coyle, whose team will host Hollands & Blair on Tuesday, said: “We have got a lot of time.

“With the faith and belief I’ve got in the squad now, we’re in a much stronger place than we were at the start of the season.

“The results show that and we just need to keep going.”