Di Paola keen to begin planning for next season as Horsham FC secure Isthmian Premier status

The Hornets bounced back from a 1-0 defeat at third-placed Enfield Town on Saturday to record a 1-0 success in Hertfordshire in midweek.

Charlie Hester-Cook’s 12th minute strike was the difference between the two teams and moved the Hornets 13 points clear of the drop.

Di Paola said last week’s win over Folkestone Invicta allayed relegation fears but he was delighted with the performance at Potters Bar.

He said: “The Leatherhead game, where we lost, was a bit of a jolt in terms of us looking at the table and seeing we were only seven points clear [of the drop].

“But after the Folkestone win, we were ten points clear plus our goal difference. They [Leatherhead] would have had to go into something close to title-winning form to stay up.

“Tuesday night underpinned that. Over the past two games, the boys have given everything, as if they’re trying to win a league. Some of the boys have come into form.

“I’m really happy with the 17 boys we’ve got. There is no automatic 11 that I’d pick, that’s a credit to the boys.

“The pressure has been off for the last couple of games. It’s been a long, tiring season. It was our 55th game on Tuesday night.

"We just want to see it over the line now and maybe mix it up over the next four league games and have a look at a couple of things for next season."

Saturday's contest at promotion-chasing Enfield, played on a poor pitch, was decided by Jeremiah Gyabi's 68th minute goal.

Reflecting on the trip to London, Di Paola said: "Saturday was a toss of a coin. It was a tricky pitch and there wasn’t a great deal of football played on it. I wouldn’t have paid to watch it to be honest. The poor surface made it hard.

"They had a corner and the ball was about three yards out and it swung out and came back in and they scored from it.

"We could have claimed a draw maybe but there wasn’t a lot of quality out there. I thought we thoroughly deserved the win on Tuesday.

"If you said to me that we’d take six points from three games - Folkestone, Enfield and Potters Bar, and two of them were away - I’d have taken that all day long."

Horsham entertain Haringey Borough this Saturday before the Velocity Trophy final against Margate at Aveley next Wednesday, April 13.

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