Margate are in their best form for years going into tonight’s match at Isthmian South East leaders Beckenham.

Gate’s 4-0 FA Cup win at Bognor Regis on Saturday was their fourth successive win in all competitions.

It’s the first time they’ve achieved that since Ben Greenhalgh joined the club, initially as a player, three years ago.

Now player-manager, he’s out to keep their good run going away to a Beckenham side who, like Gate, are unbeaten in the league.

Gate, 2-1 winners against Deal on Tuesday last week, aren’t due to play another league game until Lancing away on October 5, so there’s plenty riding on tonight.

“This will be our only league game for the next three weeks,” said Greenhalgh.

“We’ve got the Kent Cup in a week’s time, the Velocity Cup the week after and between those we’ve got FA Trophy and FA Cup on the Saturdays.

“So it’s going to be one of those where you’ll look back in three weeks’ time and hope you got a good result because obviously we’re going to be falling back down the table.

“We put on a really good performance against Deal and managed to get a last-minute winner and we’ve got to keep those levels up, keep pushing as long as we can.

“It’s one of the first times, especially since I’ve been at Margate, that I’m going into every game confident as a player and I feel like the trust is in the team.

“We know what we’re doing, we’re tactically aware and there’s a lot of confidence and that can build into the game and help us when things go wrong in a game.

“I’ve had a look and it’s the first time since I’ve been at Margate, in my fourth year, that we’ve won four games in a row, so that’s something we’re proud to do.

“We’ve now got to try and make that five and keep that run going.

“Everyone knows how important form is in football because we know there’s going to be a blip, there’s going to be tough times and we’re going to need to rally together, so while we’re in the good times we’ve just got to try and maintain them for as long as we can.”

Margate risk a fixture backlog in the league all the time their fine knockout form continues but it’s a price worth paying as far as Greenhalgh is concerned.

Attention turns back to the FA Trophy this Saturday (3pm) and a trip to Ascot in the second qualifying round.

“I think you can look back and say maybe an FA Cup run or an FA Trophy run cost us in the league but you have to play every game as it comes,” said Greenhalgh.

“You have to look to win every game.

“We even said teams sometimes get judged on FA Cup performances.

“Right now, we’ve got through three rounds and that’s money into the club and a good buzz for the fans.

“You’ve got to try and stay in that as long as you can and the other one has to be the FA Trophy.

“I see certain teams neglect the FA Trophy but I go to Wembley every single year to watch the FA Vase and FA Trophy finals and every year I’m thinking, ‘We need to try and do something’.

“Obviously it’s a lot harder to get to the Trophy final as an Isthmian South East club but we’re not going to neglect the Trophy, we’re going to take that just as seriously as well.”

Harvey Brand scored a fourth-minute opener to set Margate on their way to victory at Isthmian Premier Bognor in the FA Cup, with Ibrahim Olutade’s double and late cracker from Greenhalgh completing a great day.

They’ll host Horsham in the third qualifying round on September 28.

“I think we played it quite well because in our heads we always fancied ourselves with the momentum we had and the way we’ve been playing,” said Greenhalgh.

“To be honest, it was one of the most dominant games we’ve had all season.

“We could have been five or six up at half-time, so it was a really good start.

“Once we went 1-0 up we jumped on them and went for the kill a little bit and it paid off.

“Harvey’s been brilliant. He and Brandon Davey have probably been our best signings.

“They cover so much yardage, they’ve got good qualities on the ball and they’ve bought into what we want to do.

“They’ve been massive for us and are a big reason why we’re on the run we’re on.”

The Bognor game was also the first time Greenhalgh has named an unchanged side this season.

He stuck with the team who came from a goal down to beat Deal 2-1 at home, Louie Atkins with an injury-time winner after Olutade levelled.

Greenhalgh has generally favoured rotation but it’s a balancing act.

It’s difficult, you have to manage your team, you have to manage your players,” he said.

“It’s new to me in terms of trying not to upset players, trying to keep players happy and keep players fit.

“I’m having plenty of conversations with Flan (assistant boss Adam Flanagan) and Elliott (Leveson, coach) about how we do it and making sure we’re not over-rotating because that can sometimes kill any momentum we’ve had but we have rotated quite a lot.

“I feel everybody’s had a reasonable amount of game time.

“We’re in the position where we’re trying to keep people happy but I’ve said to the boys who may have played a little bit less at the moment, you’ve got to be happy if you’re part of a team that’s winning games the way we are and creating a bit of noise for ourselves.

“We’re lucky where we haven’t had any serious injuries but as the season goes on you’re going to need your squad and it’s keeping everyone happy and ready at the moment.”

Margate visit Thanet rivals Ramsgate in the Kent Senior Cup first round on Tuesday (7.45pm).