Steve Watt says Hythe have to earn respect as they gear up for two Kent derbies over the bank holiday weekend.

The Cannons have won their only Isthmian South East game so far, a 2-0 victory at Corinthian on the opening day.

They've also got through two rounds of the FA Cup, including an extraordinary 5-4 preliminary round replay win against Raynes Park Vale last night.

Hythe came from a goal down to lead 2-1 through Johan Caney-Bryan and Lex Allan, but trailed 3-2 before Jason Fregene levelled with a minute of normal time remaining.

Frannie Collin and Caney-Bryan's second put the hosts 5-3 up in extra time, with Raynes Park pulling one back.

The Cannons host Hayes & Yeading in the first qualifying round on September 3.

Boss Watt is happy with the new-look squad he’s put together since returning to the Cannons dugout in the summer but knows nobody is really talking about his side.

The same cannot be said of Hythe’s next two opponents, Sevenoaks and Ramsgate, who are among the title favourites.

Watt’s side host Oaks in their first home league game of the season on Saturday before visiting Rams on Monday (both 3pm).

“I think we’ve probably had one of the hardest starts,” said Watt.

“With the resources Sevenoaks and Ramsgate have, and the players they’ve brought in, they’re favourites to be up there in terms of winning the league, not just making the play-offs.

“It will be a really tough weekend but we can only worry about ourselves, like we always do.

“We’ve got a lot of players who’ve either not been retained by their clubs or who haven’t felt wanted, so we’ve got a point to prove and games like these are a chance to show that.

"We’re underdogs going in both games this weekend.

“I think we’re predicted to finish 16th and listening to a few things about the Corinthian game, people were assuming that would be an easy three points for them.

“We’re not getting the respect I think we deserve in terms of the squad we have but that’s fine, we’ve got to go and earn that respect and earn the right for people to say we're a good side.

"It’s not a case of saying we won six games in pre-season and only lost two, so we must be a good side, because pre-season means nothing. We’ve got to replicate that in the league.

"We know we can be competitive in this league, we’ve shown we’re a difficult side to play against.

“We’ve created chances and we’ve looked solid and resolute at the back, which you need to be to win games.

“No one worries about little old Hythe, everyone’s thinking about the so-called bigger and better teams.

“We’ll go about our business quietly and under the radar and what will be, will be.”

Hythe made a point of calling for fans to turn out for last night’s FA Cup preliminary round replay.

Watt knows winning football will keep supporters coming back and make Reachfields a difficult place for away teams.

He said: “Hythe’s in a tough position where it’s surrounded by big clubs in Ashford, Dover and Folkestone.

“We have to find a way of reconnecting and re-engaging with fans to get them through the doors.

“With the results last year you can see why the attendances dropped off but our job is to put in good performances and good results so people want to come back.

“Hythe’s a lovely club, run by fantastic people, but the more we can get through the turnstiles, we can make it a horrible place for teams to come and use that to our advantage when we’re up against these big-spending clubs.

“We need to expand our fanbase, not only does it help on the pitch, it helps the club to have money coming in.”