Dreams of Wembley are over for another season but Deal Town now have eyes on the main prize - promotion.

The Hoops were beaten on penalties in the Quarter-Finals of the FA Vase at Lincoln United last Saturday but manager Steve King remained upbeat as he knows his men still have so much more to play for.

More: A missed opportunity against Lincoln

It’s catch-up time now for Deal in the league, as they start to close the gap on Southern Counties East Premier Division sides Glebe and Corinthian at the top of the table. With plenty of games in hand, King’s men are well placed.

Deal were due to get back to league action on Tuesday night at home to Lordswood but the pitch failed a referee’s inspection. They are due to play away at Sutton Athletic on Saturday.

King said: “We have a lot to play for still - the Vase was the dream competition but our bread and butter [is the league] and this football club hasn’t played at Step Four since the 1960s.

“We have got a lot to do between now and the end of the season to reach our goal.”

Fatigue was evident at Lincoln - for both teams - with so much expected from semi-pro footballers.

King had league games in mind before and during the match as he tried his best to manage the squad.

Prior to the weekend’s game, Deal had a league game last Tuesday night at Kennington, with goals from Jack Penny, Jamie Kennedy and Josh Byford securing a second successive 3-0 away win.

King said: “The impact on both sides could be seen but we’ve had to pick really strong sides in the league, we have had to play Tuesday night.

“I had to bring Ben Chapman and Tom Chapman off, they are huge players for us, but we’re trying to get promoted.

“We respected the league on Saturday-Tuesday and we picked strong teams. If we left all those boys out (for the league games) we probably would have got through (on Saturday), but that’s football, we’re trying to get protected as well.

“I made that decision, I carried the can on it, it’s frustrating when they have to come off and we will find out at the end of the season whether it was a good decision.

“The league tried to keep the week blank for us but with the Bridgwater game called off (in the previous round) and all the rain we’ve had, we just had to play in midweek. That’s the way it is.”

Deal have seven games in hand on leaders Glebe who they trailed by eight points.

They’ve played five games less than second-placed Corinthian, who are five points ahead.

Heading into the weekend the Hoops have 14 more league matches remaining - pretty much a third of the season between now and the end of April.

“We know how hard it’s going to be,” King said. “There are some good sides, fatigue is going to be an issue for us, ironically losing (to Lincoln) makes it slightly easier because we haven’t got a two-legged semi and all the prep and all the energy that goes into that, but obviously every single person would be loving to prep for that!

“We are all disappointed but we’re in a situation where we have got to just pull ourselves together and we’ll crack on, there’s no point us getting too down about it, it happens, it is frustrating.

“We know how to bounce back and we will look to do that.

“Losing that match does upset you, it hurts, but as the leader of the group you have to keep going. If I come out glum and gutted and chin on the floor that gets through to the players and supporters. We’ll stand up tall and go again.

“We have a points target we have to try and hit and if we get promoted and we’ve got to the Quarter-Finals of the Vase, especially with our budget and resources where we’re not spending what some other clubs are, then it will be an incredibly successful season for us.”

Deal are due to be at home to Fisher on Tuesday night.