Margate player-boss Ben Greenhalgh has been reflecting on an impressive first season in charge.

The 33-year-old former Welling, Maidstone, Dartford and Tonbridge man has grown into the role alongside assistant Adam Flanagan.

It didn’t have the fairytale ending they craved, losing to winners Burgess Hill in the Isthmian South East play-offs.

But it’s still been a promising full season at the helm at Hartsdown Park.

"I've loved it and I've got to give Flan a lot of credit because he pushed me to do it," reflected Greenhalgh. "Obviously, we all know how negative things were at Margate last year.

"He pushed me to have that interview with Ricky (Owen, owner) and Dan (Winsbury, director). And to be fair to Ricky and Dan, I think they were on the same wavelength as myself.

"We care for the club massively and wants the club to go back up.

"The last couple of seasons haven't gone well and have been a bit negative for whatever reason so we felt that we could stamp our authority on it.

"The players have seen that we've given 100 per cent and there's no laziness. There's no sort of rocking up on a Thursday night without a plan, rocking up on a Saturday and selecting a team and hoping you win it. We give every bit of information that we possibly can.

"There haven't been many games this year where we haven't had an identity.

"There always are going to be blips and we have had a few moments that we haven't been good enough, but we've really enjoyed it.

"I feel like we are the right people to take it on. And I think you can tell that when the fans have been so positive with us. They've recognised how much we care and how much we want to push it.

"I feel like the club is all going in the right direction. We've got to go again and, once we get over the Burgess Hill loss, there will be a lot of positives."

Margate finished on 87 points from 42 league games, losing just five times in the season.

Runners-up Sittingbourne broke the 100-point barrier but that wasn’t enough to earn promotion and Greenhalgh admitted the bar is so high to move up to the next level.

“I feel like we've worked hard enough all season to get promoted,” he said. “But this is what happens in play-off games.

“In the league, you've got two teams that have over 100 points. Both are brilliant teams, as were Burgess Hill and it was harsh on Sittingbourne not to go up.

“The amount of points this season has just been crazy. We've been unlucky to be in that position because if you got 87 points in the league above, you win the title.

“It's been different this year, but we've just got to rebuild and go again.”