Sussex Senior Cup must inspire Bognor Regis Town to improved Isthmian form

Bognor thumped a spirited Bexhill United side 6-1 at Nyewood Lane on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the competition thanks to a double from Josh McCormack and strikes from Dan Gifford, Nathan Odokonyero, Calvin Davies and an own goal from Jamie Thoroughgood.

The convincing victory came in stark contrast to a mini-slump in the league and came on the back of a 4-2 loss at Wingate & Finchley leaving Blake's men 15th in the table.

Blake was delighted with the response against the East Sussex side and has challenged his side to take the good habits from the win into Saturday's league encounter at home to high-flying Enfield Town.

He said: "Talk about contrasting fortunes! Our cup run continues but we must improve in terms of how we are performing in the league. We really enjoyed the 6-1 win and it was so good to see the players go into the game with the right attitude and ultimately collect a thoroughly deserved win and reach the semi-finals.

"We asked the players to respond against Bexhill and in fairness they did that. We stuck to our plan and remained true to our principals and eventually got the reward. We could have had more goals but getting through was the main objective and that was achieved so overall it was a good night. Even though we scored six Bexhill were always a threat and they got their consolation goal and good luck to them for the rest of the season.

"From our perspective, a clean sheet would have been nice. But we move on and Enfield will obviously provide a tougher challenge. They are fourth in the league table and very much in the shake up as the title race continues and manager Andy Leese has his side brimming with confidence and playing some decent football.

"Our challenge is to nullify them but to do it by the way we play our game. We always try to dictate play and this will continue. Yes, we have to be stronger at the back and the players are fully aware of the improvements they need to make."

With skipper Harvey Whyte set for a spell on the sidelines through injury, Blake was keen to protect his more influential players and this was the case when Craig Robson was withdrawn at half-time against Bexhill.

Blake added: "We took Craig off at half-time purely as a precaution as he felt his hamstring a little. It is vital we have Robbo in our side and performing to the level he can if we are to kick on and push up the table. When he is on it , for me, he is the best central defender in the league. Robbo will step up in terms of leading the team given that we have the skipper out for what seems to be a while. I want everyone to take responsibility and do so collectively too.”