Deal Town manager Steve King says this season’s achievements are up there with the title-winning efforts from last year.

The Hoops complete their Isthmian South East campaign at home to Broadbridge Heath on Saturday and will be assured of at least finishing ninth, potentially as high as seventh, in their first season at this level since the 1960s.

King has saluted the team’s efforts ahead of their final match.

“We’re guaranteed ninth place now,” he said. “Three Bridges will probably win at home on Saturday, so I don’t think we will finish seventh, but if you had offered me top nine at the start of the season, I would have been absolutely delighted.

“We have probably this season done as well as we did last season.

“You don’t always get the plaudits, but to have achieved over 60 points in our first season up, without really adding to the squad, it’s turned into a really good season for us with this excellent finish that we’re having.

“We have looked at the other teams who were promoted with us, Steyning Town, Erith Town, AFC Croydon Athletic and Eastbourne Town, of that five-team mini league, we are going to win it comfortably.

“We knew coming up we couldn’t compete with the likes of Ramsgate, Margate and Sittingbourne, that was never our aim.

“When you do go up, especially with a side like ours, where we didn’t go and sign a whole new squad - we stuck with the players we had - to come top nine in our first season is a really pleasing achievement for us.

“We believe in continuity. We won the league by nine points last year, and our brief was that those players deserve the opportunity to represent the club at this level.

“We brought Jack Paxman back and signed Josh Vincent to add a little more experience but, other than that, we’ve had the same squad that got promoted last year.

“Our model probably isn’t similar to a lot of other clubs now who chop and change quite a lot, we feel vindicated that the way we run the club is paying off.”

Easter weekend victories over East Grinstead Town (1-0) and Herne Bay (3-0) continued their late-season success, boasting six wins from their last seven.

“Two wins, two clean sheets, four more goals, it was pretty much a perfect weekend,” said the manager.

A 1-0 win over East Grinstead came courtesy of Ife Oni’s early goal. Strikes from Wes Hennessey, Tom Chapman and Archie Hatcher secured victory at Herne Bay on Monday.

King said: “It was a really tough game because we haven’t had rain for a long time, our home pitch is very hard and has got very bobbly. We’re on chalk down where we are and without some rain it’s very hard and it was also a windy day, so the conditions ruined the game.

“We got a goal in the first 10 minutes and then defended really well.

“We haven’t kept enough clean sheets this season, so we were really pleased at having beaten Three Bridges at home a couple of weeks ago with a clean sheet, it was nice for us to pick up another clean sheet at home on Saturday.

“We kept another one on Monday, as well, so we’re really pleased with that run, defensively.”

Isthmian South East table