Steve Watt was delighted to see Frannie Collin's return to goalscoring form after encouraging the striker to go back to doing what he does best.

Collin's strike in Saturday's 2-0 Isthmian South East victory at Herne Bay was his first since the opening day of the season and boss Watt hopes it can set him off on a run.

The 32-year-old forward was played in a more central position than of late, and Watt – who also managed him at Margate – believes that is where he can be most effective.

He explained: "The fact that Frannie had not scored since the opening day probably tells the story of how the season had been going, players low on confidence, not creating chances.

"I had a chat with him before Saturday. I wanted to try to get the old Frannie back, the old number nine who thrives on scoring goals.

"When we were at Margate I often played him on the left, or as a number 10. I probably did not play him as high up as he would have liked but I knew he would bring assists and quality.

"He maybe had to work a bit harder than he had before but we're at a different level, one at which he can cause problems as the lone striker and I've told him to be a bit more selfish.

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"He's got good quality around him now with the likes of Tom Carlton and Kiernan Hughes-Mason so I don't have to rely on his creativity so much.

"He was fantastic against Herne Bay, he led the line and thoroughly deserved his goal.

"Hopefully it can be the start of a little run for him."

Hythe's win was their first since Watt succeeded Sam Denly earlier this month and lifted them to 17th.

They also collected their first clean sheet in eight matches, something Watt feels they can build on.

He said: "There's still a lot of work to do but Saturday will do the players the power of good.

"If I'm honest I was a bit disappointed that we did not get more than two goals but I was very pleased we did not concede.

"The way I like to build my team is from the back because if you can have solid foundations with quality going forward you can be successful."

Watt brought goalkeeper Will Godmon back to Reachfields ahead of the Bay game and he expects at least two more new faces this week.

Ryan Nicholls and Ryan Cooper have left the club but Watt says they will retain keeper Nicholls' registration.

He explained "Ryan was at the game supporting the boys on Saturday which was great.

"He's great character and I think he's just going to have a couple of weeks away from football because he'd not really been enjoying it."

Hythe are without a game this weekend but Watt did not rule out trying to arrange a friendly for Saturday morning.

The Cannons are next in action on Saturday, October 5 when they host Haywards Heath.

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