Toppling leaders Folkestone in the derby shows Hythe are a match for anyone, says manager Clive Cook, although he cooled talk of a promotion push of their own – for now.

Despite Sunday’s win moving Town within seven points of a play-off spot in Ryman League, Division 1 South – a division where just nine points separates third from 14th – Cook claimed: “Whenever we start talking about (getting in the top five), we seem to have a little blip. Let’s leave that a while.

“Before Sunday, we went to Worthing – the best side I’ve seen – and lost 2-0 but I chucked a few teapots about after Three Bridges because they were a poor side and we got stuffed.

“Then we turn it around like we did against Folkestone – you can’t ask for more. We just have to get the consistency a little better.”

He added: “We got the squad all together, sat them down and told them this: I believe that if we do what we are good at, then we will match and beat any side in this league.

"I don’t like to blow the trumpet but we just made the league leaders look ordinary. We’ve beaten Faversham, Folkestone – top sides – we just need to get stronger against the sides you expect to get the points from.”

The Cannons head to Southwood on Saturday to face fourth-placed Ramsgate (3pm), while another of the play-off chasing pack, Hastings, visit Reachfields on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Cook said: “We’ll take it a game at a time and we go to Ramsgate next.

“Sunday was probably the perfect performance for that fixture but Ramsgate is going to be a battle. You know what you get with Jim and Danny Ward, they’ll try and spoil it and do what they’re good at.”

Cook says he will have a game-plan for the Rams in the same way as he did for Invicta – although he claims he was laughed at in online forums and on social media for saying he had a masterplan for how to defeat Invicta.

He said: “Last week I went online – which I don’t normally do – and I know everyone was laughing at me when I said I knew how to beat them.

“I knew how to beat them. I always said, having seen them a few times, that if you play high against them and the tempo is high, they will not be able to handle it.

“Of course I have two jack-in-the-boxes in the form of Frankie Sawyer and Alfie May and they wrecked them. It wasn’t close, being honest.

“It’s not that they are a poor side, we beat a good side and my challenge was to beat the best manager. That was the biggest and best challenge I’ve ever had and I’ve done it – because the boys listened and believed in it. What a great result.”

Cook said the win went some way to repairing the damage of the 8-0 mauling at Folkestone on Boxing Day 2011 – when he was assistant manager to Scott Porter.

He added: “I spoke to the chairman on Christmas morning. It’s been on my mind. You turn over sides and systems in your head all night long. My dread was I don’t want to be involved in another 8-0.

“It was in the back of my mind but from the way we started, I knew it was never going to happen and it could have been five or six to us but I’ll settle for two and the three points.”