CHATS ARE NOT JUST ALL TALK IN TITLE RACE

BACK-TO-BACK promotions and a flying start to life at Step 3 has left Chatham Town manager Kevin Hake smiling - but his ambitions run far higher.

- Hugo Varley

The Kent side rose to the Isthmian Premier Division summit on Monday with a crushing 5-2 win at recently relegated Dulwich Hamlet.

It made it five wins from five and has got the ambitious boss believing the Chats are edging ever closer to the end goal.

"I make no secret that I want to lead this club into the 99 Football League, beamed the chairman-manager.

"When I came back to the club in 2017 and said that was my target people didn't take me seriously. They probably still don't take it too seriously, but they are definitely starting to notice our rise.

"The town is starting to get spotted on the footballing map and that is such a special thing to see." After romping to the Isthmian South East title last season, Hake quickly set out on bringing in experience from higher up in the pyramid.