New manager James Collins believes Herne Bay has the off-the-field infrastructure to be an Isthmian Premier club again - but his present focus is on ensuring they don’t sleepwalk into a relegation dogfight.

Collins was confirmed as the new Bay boss last Thursday, replacing Welshman Steve Lovell.

He beat off serious competition to take charge of the Isthmian South East side, who enjoyed their maiden campaign at Step 3 two years ago.

Collins said: “It’s a big club and has a good fan-base, and it’s a good standard of football.

“You know this is a club that seems like it’s going places. It seems like it’s going in the right direction, wants to do things properly and, if the club went up, off the pitch, it’s ready.

“On the pitch, obviously, we need to do some work. But if the club did go up, I don’t think they would be struggling off the pitch.

“I think that’s credit to Matt (Barman, the chairman) and the board.”

Report: Herne Bay 1-2 Phoenix Sports

Collins offers apology to Bay fans

But the former Chatham, Cray Valley, Faversham Town and Bowers & Pitsea boss denied Herne Bay’s off-the-field potential puts extra pressure on him.

He said: “It makes it easier.

"It’s harder when you’re at a club and you’re the one trying to push those standards!

“I will never change - whether I’m the manager of Lordswood, Sutton or Maidstone - I will want to win as much as I can, and I’ll put pressure on myself.

“It makes no difference. If anything, it helps me because it means I have got someone behind me, pushing standards and keeping me on my toes, instead of me pushing standards on and off the pitch.

“If you’re pushing standards off the pitch, from past experience, that never ends well as a manager.

“If I’m not here, it’s because I have not been good enough, as opposed to me trying to push standards elsewhere and maybe people feeling like I’m interfering!”

For now, though, Bay’s focus is on survival this season after Collins started his tenure with last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat against fellow strugglers Phoenix Sports.

“If we play like that for the rest of the season, we’ll be fighting to stay up on the last day of the season,” he said. “That was nowhere near good enough.

“We need to not be arrogant enough to think we can’t be sucked into it because teams are fighting for their lives.

“It’s got to be way better. We have got to make sure we secure our status in this league.

“I don’t think we can look further ahead than that.”

One of few Bay players to impress as Collins took over was midfielder Jordy Ndozid, signed after his release from Sheppey, while top scorer Mike Salako also netted a second-half goal in vain.

On Ndozid, Collins said: “He’ll bring energy and he’s good on the ball.

“We have lost Scott Heard [serving a suspension] and we had no Kane Rowland on Saturday, and that’s to a squad that’s already threadbare. It limits the way you can do things and the way you can play.

“Maybe, it just got jumbled up and thrown together and I don’t think it came out very well.”

Collins will aim to add further to his ranks but only if the right personnel are available.

He said: “It needs adding to.

"I was happy to see what we had and we had a really good training session last Thursday, but I was really disappointed in what I saw on Saturday. I think the squad is thin, anyway.

“I don’t know because I don’t know the players but maybe there’s a bit of complacency in there but, once we have brought in a couple of new players, that’ll soon change. But they have got to be the right players for the club.

“They can’t be people to come in just until the end of the season, and then want to leave. Anyone that comes in, there’s got to be that vision that they want to be here long-term.

“Obviously, things can change, but they’re the sort of players I will be looking for.

“That will probably be quite difficult because players go season-by-season, don’t they? But we will see who’s around.”

Collins’ return to management came after he left Bowers on Christmas Eve, having won the Isthmian North play-offs last summer.

On a return to the dugout, he said: “I was thinking it was a bit more relaxing when I wasn’t involved in it!

“But it’s in your blood, isn’t it? It’s what I enjoy doing.

“I had a great time at Bowers. I wasn’t desperate to get back in, but this was too much of an opportunity to turn down.

“That’s what I’m trying to say to the players because I don’t think they realise quite how lucky they are.

“This is a big club that’s going to go places and we’re very lucky to be here.”

Collins will be supported on the sidelines by coach Joe Denny - who played under Collins at Faversham - and director of football Dan Tanner.

“They’re very good club-men,” he said. “I have managed Joe before and, as for Dan, he seems brilliant.

“There’s no reason to change that. I think it’s important to build a club not just around the manager.

“I’ve not been forced into anything, but Matt had started implementing things and the new board has implemented things and I think you can see that.

“What you don’t want to do is, with any good people or any hard work from before the new manager comes in, [scrapping that] so it all starts again. I think it’s important for the club to have them.

“If they weren’t an asset to me, I’d certainly say, but those decisions have been made and I think they’re fantastic people to have around me.”

He is also looking forward to working closely with chairman Barman - a man he compared to Chats manager-chairman Kevin Hake.

“Matt really loves his football,” Collins said.

“I think it’ll help me to have someone on the board that has been in my shoes and knows how it works.

“He reminds me of Kev Hake when I took the job at Chatham. He’s so driven and he wants to do good things. He loves his football and gives it 100 per cent.”

Herne Bay’s trip to Beckenham fell victim to the weather on Tuesday, which means midfielder Scott Heard will complete his two-match ban when they travel to Sheppey on Saturday.