Whitstable Town player-boss Andy Drury already making a difference as Oystermen claim back-to-back home wins in Isthmian South East to keep bid for survival alive

Player-manager Andy Drury is already making a difference at Whitstable with back-to-back wins keeping their late bid for Isthmian South East survival alive.

A 3-0 home win over Whitehawk last weekend, followed by a 1-0 victory against Chichester at the Belmont on Tuesday in front of a crowd of 265, have moved the basement boys to within four points of safety with four games to play.

Recently-appointed Drury had targeted maximum points from the two fixtures and his team have delivered - after a wake-up call at training.

Drury, whose first match in charge was a 2-0 loss at promotion-chasing Haywards Heath, said: “We were okay at Haywards Heath, and could have nicked a point, but probably didn’t have enough time to set up how we wanted to play.

“We had a full week last week to prepare and we worked on our organisation, and we have now got a bit of belief.

“At training last week, I stopped it after 20 minutes because we were just flat. I went round and spoke to all the leaders in the changing room and everyone seemed to grow from there, really.

“We took that into Saturday and Tuesday as well.

“Sometimes, a little word is needed for people to just step up to the plate.”

Drury believes Whitstable’s recent upturn in fortunes has helped instil a real belief in the squad.

“We had three goals in 10 games and one win in 16 (before the weekend) so back-to-back wins and two clean sheets gives the boys a lot of confidence and belief,” the midfielder enthused.

“The spirit in there is magnificent.

“We will go again on Saturday and see if we can get a result at Corinthian.”

Against Whitehawk, the Oystermen’s goals came from midfielders Jack Hanson and Danny Walder, alongside striker Charlie Heatley’s effort, before Scott Doe was credited