Punjab United manager-chairman Chipie Sian targets Southern Counties East Premier Division play-off place next season after Kent Senior Trophy triumph

Chipie Sian wants Punjab United to target a play-off place next season after their Kent Senior Trophy triumph.

They will hope to finish their campaign in style in the Southern Counties East Premier Division when they host Lordswood this Saturday, having collected silverware in emphatic fashion with a 6-0 success over Deal on Sunday.

Manager-chairman Sian, whose team also are due to visit Tunbridge Wells tonight, insists a top-10 finish was always a target this term.

A four-team play-off system comes in for the 2023/24 season when the champions automatically will be promoted to the Isthmian League and those finishing second to fifth can challenge for the other promotion position.

Sian wants Punjab to be one of them.

“Our target now is play-offs,” he said.

“If we go for the play-offs next year, that’s a fantastic target for the club.

“If we can keep a group of players who are embedded with the club now, and maybe add a few, I think we’ll have a really good chance.

“I just feel really gutted that I lost a lot of players before the season kicked off - to injuries and some people got offered deals where I said ‘You can’t turn that down, you need to go’. Within a month or two, they came back.

“From October, we looked unbelievable - but I wish I had those sorts of players from the beginning of the season because we probably would have been in and around the play-offs.

“What a season you’ll have next year!

"You’ve got Faversham, Corinthian will be in the league as well.

“Everyone always says top-five but, hold on, you have Faversham, Corinthian and we don’t know what will happen with a few of those at the top, do we?

“You could have Phoenix back in here. But why not [aim for the play-offs]?”

Sian accepts the key to any promotion