Ben Smith feels he’s a better manager for sharing the workload at Ramsgate this season.

Smith has been happy to accept help from those around him at Southwood, including the likes of assistant boss Darren Beale.

It hasn’t been a strength of his in the past but Smith has learned from experience as he bids to land the Isthmian South East title.

He’s enjoyed success, leading Herne Bay to promotion via the play-offs and taking Ramsgate to the FA Cup second round for the first time in their history, along with a runners-up finish in the league.

But he’s learned to make the most of those closest to him and that’s only helped league leaders Rams in their championship bid.

“I use the team around me a bit more now,” said Smith.

“There was certainly a time - and it’s no fault of the people I’ve had with me in the past - where it was very much a case of ‘I’ll do it’, and I’d take on too much.

“I think sharing the load and trusting people a bit more has helped.

“I’ve had great people around me and sometimes I haven’t given them the trust they deserved.

“I’m not one of these managers where it’s my way or the highway, and I’m not a control freak, although sometimes I probably acted like I was, but that’s just wanting to win and prove I can do it and have a certain impact on things.

“Actually, sharing the load a little bit has worked really well this year and certainly I wish I’d done it earlier in my career as a manager.

“That comes from experience.

“I’m still relatively young as a manager, at 37.

“I’ve not done too badly in the past but I think you always want to see how you can improve.

“I have a fingerprint on everything, of course I do.

“That would be naive of me not to and naive of anyone to think I haven’t got a fingerprint on everything.

“However, there’s also trust in allowing other people to take something as their responsibility.

“There’s times where I’ll delegate to Darren Beale, for example, and say, ‘Actually, Bealey, you’re best-placed to have this conversation with this person right now’.

“In the past, I should have done that more.

“Someone like Ben Brown, who I had with me at Herne Bay, he was great, and he’d have been of even better use to me if I had given him a little bit more responsibility and asked for help when I needed it.

“That’s something he’s told me and something I’ve taken from him as someone who was my assistant.”

Ramsgate’s 11-match winning run ended when they drew 0-0 at third-placed Burgess Hill on Saturday.

Skipper Joe Taylor had a second-half penalty saved.

“We’re disappointed not to win but, detaching ourselves from the emotion of it, it’s a good point away from home,” said Smith.

“Burgess Hill is a tough place to go and a good team in really good form.

“Teams aren’t going to just roll over for us, that’s for sure.

“You’ve got to make sure when you’re not playing well that you pick something up and we’ve done that.

“It’s not knocked our belief in any way. You want to win every game, and you get used to winning, but there’s no panic. We were nice and relaxed after the game.

“It’s another game ticked off and I think it’s a good point.

“A point was a fair result and we move on.”

Ramsgate visit Merstham tonight (7.45pm) looking to maintain their 10-point lead over Sittingbourne, who are in action at Margate.

The Brickies have two games in hand on Smith’s side, who host Eastbourne Town this Saturday (3pm).

Meanwhile, Rams’ Thanet derby against Margate is heading for a sell-out with the fixture still nearly seven weeks away.

By Monday morning, the Rams had sold 2,600 tickets for the Easter Monday clash at Southwood on April 21.

The figure includes 400 away tickets.

It’s the penultimate game of the season and Rams’ final home match before ending at title rivals Sittingbourne.

“We’ve got to get to a situation where that game either means something or it’s a great party atmosphere,” said Smith.

“There’s a lot of work to do before that.”