Boss Steve Lovell admits bragging rights will be on the line ahead of Herne Bay’s huge Bank Holiday derby against Ramsgate – but he isn’t focused on that yet.

There’s plenty of intrigue in the build up to the match at Winch’s Field on Monday.

Both managers started last season in charge of the team which they’re now up against while several players are due to take on their former club.

It’s an Isthmian South East showdown which Lovell is looking forward to but they need to take care of Saturday’s trip to East Grinstead first.

Lovell said: “It’s a game of football at the end of the day, it’s 11v11.

“There’s quite a few local derbies in this league now. I think the players love it.

“They want to get one over their mates and the bragging rights, really. Everybody will want to play in the game.

“If you’re playing at this level, it’s one of the best games you can play in.

“But we need to get Saturday out of the way first. We will be concentrating on putting on a good performance at East Grinstead.”

Ramsgate boss Ben Smith recruited numerous higher-division players this summer.

“They’re favourites, I think, with the signings they have made this year,” Welshman Lovell noted. “They want to win the title this year, which is understandable.

“It will be a good game. A lot of players have played for both clubs and their manager managed Herne Bay last year. So there will be a lot of interest in the game.

“They’re really good. We’ll see where we are at the end of it.

“There’s only three points you can get out of it. It will be good for the locals - to see a good team come to Herne Bay.

“It should be a good game, especially if we play like we did on Tuesday [in their 3-0 FA Cup replay win over Bedfont Sports]. It should be a very good occasion.”

East Grinstead have lost twice to Hythe already - once in the league and in the FA Cup at the weekend - this season.

Lovell said: “We beat them twice last year at Ramsgate. They’ve had an indifferent start to the season but it’s early doors.

“We just have to take the positives from Tuesday into Saturday.

“With two games in three days, it’s one where we need to utilise the squad and get the maximum out of it.”

Bay got the better of Bedfont Sports in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday through goals from Gil Carvalho, Kane Rowland and Dan Carrington.

That came after Bedfont struck late to force a replay, Theo Osinfolarin netting a penalty for Lovell’s team last Saturday.

On the replay win, Lovell added: “It was a very good performance. It was three and could have been a lot more.

“I was just pleased with the way we responded. It was a good pre-season but, first couple of games, we didn’t play as well as we can.

“We made three changes and the boys have come in and got the job done.

“In the first 10 minutes, I think we had six or seven attempts on goal. I think we only had one attempt on goal in the first game and that shows how well they did on Saturday.

“I think the changes helped us. We started brightly, got the two early goals, and it was quite comfortable from then on.”

Bay will visit Redhill in the First Qualifying Round on September 2.

Player-of-the-match Carvalho was again on target in midweek.

After a prolific pre-season, the forward struck his second goal of the campaign against Bedfont Sports with a bicycle kick.

Lovell said: “He’d scored all the way through pre-season, I think that’s his eighth or ninth from pre-season to now.

“I know what he can do, not just his goal-scoring.”