Manager Jamie Coyle sees no reason why Josh Oliver cannot reach 25 or 30 goals for Whitstable this season.

In-form midfielder Oliver got his fifth goal in seven matches for the Southern Counties East Premier Division side in last weekend’s 2-1 victory at leaders VCD in the Kent Senior Trophy.

The ex-Margate man is into his second full season at The Belmont.

“He has got double figures for the season,” said Coyle. “Him and Harvey Smith have got 10 goals already.

“Josh has been excellent because he was struggling a couple of months ago with his confidence. We’ve worked with him a lot.

“There’s still elements of his game he needs to improve on, we have spoken about that on numerous occasions, but he wants to learn.

“I want to see him progressing to higher levels because he has the ability to do that. If he keeps working on his game without the ball, he has the ability to play higher than this level.

“Players are always going to have dips in form but, if we can get him working hard, that will have a real impact on his game.

Whitstable man makes team-of-the-week

"He was tracking back the full-back on Saturday and he worked hard in order to get his goal.

“It’s really nice to see that, when a player has a little lack of confidence, he has become the player he is now.

“If he keeps going the way he is going, I don’t see why he couldn’t get 25 or even 30 goals for the season. For someone who has mainly been playing out wide, that would be a big achievement.

“Harvey is similar because he is in double figures, as well.

"We have definitely added goals to the team.”

Experienced forward Dean Grant got his fifth goal since he rejoined the Oystermen in late September just after the hour mark after good work by influential half-time substitute Fin Cotton.

Coyle reflected: “It was a brilliant second-half performance.

“They were by far the better team in the first half. We struggled to get to grips with the way they played but we made some tactical substitutions.

“It was a little bit of the roles being reversed from the first time we played them this season on Saturday where they dominated the first half a little bit and rotated really well in midfield. But in the second half, we should have killed the game off.

“Jayden Silcott-Brown had a one-on-one chance and their keeper made an unbelievable save. There were a couple of opportunities where we could have put the game to bed.

“I said before the game that, tactically, they’re one of the best teams in the league.

"They have got a really good manager and coaches, who I know well. I’ve got a lot of respect for them.

"I would say, certainly in those conditions, there was good football played by both teams. It was nice to be involved in and I’m sure that it was good to watch.

“It was a good performance from us, especially in the second half, and we thoroughly deserved the win.”

The match also saw the rushed return of left-back Veron Nzinga after he played for the club in the 2021/22 Isthmian South East relegation season.

“He was outstanding,” said 41-year-old Coyle, who also had to play himself.

“We found out late on Friday night that Jayden Boulton was cup-tied because he had played in the cup when he was playing on dual registration at Sutton Athletic. It was a case of last-minute trying to find a left-back.

“He had not played for a couple of months since September until Saturday. It was a big gamble but he was absolutely outstanding.

“What I liked about him is that he’s keen to learn. He put on a good show, considering he’s not match fit.

"He got booked but he did well for the rest of the game. He has earned the right to work in our environment, moving forward.”

Next up for Whitstable is a home match with Erith & Belvedere on Saturday before their FA Vase home tie against Jersey Bulls seven days later.

“We’re only really looking at the next fixture,” said Coyle, who revealed the club watched Jersey’s midweek match against Corinthian-Casuals. “That’s a league game and the league needs to be our priority.

“We need to be in and around the play-off places before Christmas so, then, we can really attack the second-half of the season.

“We need to get on a little run in the league and that’s the focus, starting on Saturday.”

Jayden Boulton will be available to face Erith & Belvedere but midfielder Reece Gillies (hernia) and defender Jake McIntyre (suspension) will be among those to miss out.