Boss James Collins has warned Herne Bay’s squad their 9-1 weekend win will quickly be forgotten if they don’t back it up.

Bay effectively ended any dwindling fears of Isthmian South East relegation as they eased past second-bottom Lancing, who have already had their fate sealed, at Winch’s Field last Saturday.

Bay had looked on course for the point they needed to officially maintain their Step 4 status at Beckenham until the hosts struck twice in the last 10 minutes to win 2-0 on Tuesday.

Speaking ahead of that defeat, Collins said: “When I came in, the club had a good buffer in terms of being above the drop zone. Then, that dropped to five points.

“For us to go down, I think Phoenix need to win all their games now and you’re looking at something like a 30-goal swing.

"If we were to go down, it would be one of the most catastrophic relegations ever!

“The players know what’s expected from me and what’s needed next season.

“I don’t want players at the club that feel like they’re doing us a favour. They need to prove themselves every week by getting results and I need to prove myself every week.

“The club is going places. Winning 9-1 and then losing two in a row, that’s not going to be good enough.

“We need to make sure we back up results consistently if we are going to achieve what we want to, and if people want to be here for the long term.”

Emmanuel Oluwasemo led the way on a perfect Bay debut with a hat-trick against Lancing.

“Manny has been amazing for me,” said Collins. “He was fantastic for me at Faversham and at Bowers.

"As I said last week, when the opportunity came to sign him, it was a no-brainer.

“Maybe, he doesn’t score as many goals as he should. But he has been playing in Kosovo and perhaps the level that he has been playing at has helped him.

“I don’t really judge him on his goals. I judge him on his work-rate and what he brings to the team.

"His goals are just a bonus.”

Oluwasemo’s goals came after a brace from top scorer Mike Salako.

Collins said: “We’re always learning.

"Let’s not forget about Kane Rowland. He has been an experienced player at this level for a long time.

“I think Manny can learn off him, as well. They all bring something different.

“Kane is more of a hold-up player, Mike is more of a finisher and Manny is a little bit of both.

“He has got pace and bundles of energy.

"It’s not just about Manny learning from Mike, we can all learn from each other.”

Bay’s other goals came from young two-goal Ukrainian midfielder Artem Kuchkov plus fellow substitutes Jordy Ndozid and Theo Osinfolarin, who rounded things off in stoppage time after Lancing replied late on.

“In the second half on Saturday, we came out and the game went into a little bit of a lull,” Collins explained. “Then, the substitutes came on.

“I think it would be wrong to say it was easy for them because they got us going again. Maybe, they had a bit of a point to prove.

“Three of the substitutes scored so that was brilliant.

“We’re still carrying a lot of injuries and the squad isn’t massive. But we took the decision a couple of weeks back to not bring any players in ourselves.

“I’ve only brought in two (keeper Kie Plumley and Oluwasemo) myself. Fenn Roberts got more minutes.

“We’re a little bit depleted in certain areas but, certainly, we’re feeling a little bit stronger every week.”

Bay will host Erith Town on Saturday, having beaten them 5-1 twice already this season - once at home in the Kent Senior Cup and once at Bayliss Avenue.