Boss Ernie Batten wants Sheppey United’s players to use the momentum from their historic FA Cup run as they return to the bread and butter of the league.

The Ites were knocked out of the FA Cup at the First-Round stage in a televised 4-1 home loss to League 2 Walsall in front of a record crowd on Friday night.

It was the first time in Sheppey’s history they had reached the First Round. They even led at Holm Park through midfielder James Bessey-Saldanha’s stunning first-half strike, only for the Saddlers to end any hopes of a remarkable cup upset.

Batten’s troops have plenty of catching up to do in Isthmian South East, though.

They visit Sevenoaks this Saturday and host title favourites Ramsgate - themselves on a great FA Cup journey - next Tuesday, having won 2-0 at home to Beckenham on Tuesday. Their goals came in the first half through striker Alex Willis and Bessey-Saldanha.

“We have got to turn our attention to the league,” said Batten. “It’s all about that now.

“Hopefully, we can use this experience to go on and have a good campaign.”

Sheppey only narrowly missed out on a play-off place last term and will look to earn a top-five finish this time around.

But games are set to come thick and fast and, with striker Dan Bradshaw still struggling with injury and Bessey-Saldanha having to contend with an injured hand, they may need to bolster their squad. Winger Danny Leonard was absent in midweek as well.

Batten said: “We have got to aim for those play-offs. Hopefully, we will be there.

“We have shown we have got a good outfit here. We’re a little bit thin on numbers with injuries so we probably need to add to the squad.

“But if we can do that successfully and recruit well, I think we could be in with a play-off shout.”

On the cup run, Batten reflected: “The highlight of the run was getting to this stage, beating Billericay in that replay and the dramatic penalties that we had. I think that stands out.

“Friday was always going to be the reward for that.

“If we happened to pull off a miracle, great. But I think it was a night to enjoy what the club has achieved.”

Sheppey’s reward was a massive tie against Walsall side, watched by 1,450 fans at the ground and many more across the country.

Batten, also part-owner of the club, suggested they could have sold more than double that amount of tickets if they had the capacity in the ground.

“I think, with the demand we had, we could have sold at least 3,000 or 3,500 tickets,” he noted. “It’s been fantastic.”

Batten thinks it shows the potential of the club. They moved to their Holm Park ground, which now has a 3G pitch, in 2013.

He said: “The Island has grown. There’s a lot of new houses that have been built on the Island, a lot of industry coming to the Island. From back in the day, the Botany Road days, I think the population has probably doubled.

“There is a lot of potential to bring more and more people here. Nights like Friday will only help.”

Batten also praised the support The Ites have received from the community on the Island.

“It’s been great to see us on TV and doing all the interviews,” he stated. “The school had a non-uniform day on Friday and there have been things like that.

“It’s been absolutely incredible. I’m very proud of the Isle of Sheppey at the moment.”

Sheppey conceded four times against Walsall, the fourth coming in controversial fashion late on, despite another excellent display by ex-Charlton goalkeeper Aiden Prall.

On Prall, who joined from Corinthian in the summer of 2022, Batten added: “He is highly-rated. I’d seen Aiden many times before we signed him and we tried to sign him the season before we did.

“He agreed to come to us eventually and he showed what a good goalkeeper he is.”