Winger Ashley Miller is playing as well now as he has done for a long time, Deal manager Steve King believes.

Miller scored a first-half penalty in the Hoops’ 2-0 Isthmian South East weekend win against Sevenoaks after last Tuesday’s double in a 3-2 Velocity Cup exit at Erith Town.

Now 31, Miller was scoring goals for Gillingham as a teenager so there’s no doubting his ability.

But King is hopeful he can now add greater consistency into his game.

“I’ve known Ash for a long time, probably since he was 10, and our aim with him - and with the experience he has got now - is for him not to be streaky and for him to be consistent,” said King, whose team will host Eastbourne tonight.

“I know he’s working really hard on that. I think he’s probably playing as well now as he has been for a long time. He was excellent at Erith in midweek.

“I thought he was very good on Saturday and probably should have had another goal, and was a bit frustrated with one he missed.

“He was good at Chatham. Sometimes, people forget how good he is.

“If he can get his consistency levels up, I know that’s his aim, I think he’s going to be a really key player.

“It’s nice for him, like with Tom Chapman, with Wes Hennessey and with Rory Smith, there’s not pressure on one man.

“It’s not about him scoring every week. It’s just about that level of performance.

“What you find with Ash is, when his level of performance is consistently high, the goals will naturally come.”

Deal’s game against Sevenoaks was only a third in the league since August 25 after their best FA Cup run in the 21st century, which saw them reach the third qualifying round.

King said: “It sounds a little bit stupid but it almost felt like the start of this season.

“We could say to the players ‘Right, we have got one focus. We have got 36 games. All our eggs are in this basket.’.

“We have played so much football in different competitions. Some games we have rotated the squad and, for some, we’ve been at full-strength.

“It’s been a little bitty. We’ve said ‘This is the start of the next phase of our season’. It was nice to start that with a win.”

Substitute Tom Chapman earned the Hoops’ second to clinch the points but a clean sheet, only their third this campaign, was equally as valuable.

“We know that’s an area we need to improve,” admitted King. “We have been working on that and I think we have made improvements, but the way you show it is by keeping the clean sheets.

“I don’t think it’s just the clean sheets, It’s about properly limiting chances. For anyone who saw the game on Saturday, it was what I call a proper clean sheet.

“It wasn’t one where the keeper was man-of-the-match and they’ve hit the post and the crossbar. It was one where we defended really well.

“We limited their opportunities and got a couple of goals in a performance that managers really enjoy.

“It wasn’t overly-exciting in those conditions but it was really controlled.”

Deal’s shut-out came despite depleted defensive options as club captain Kane Smith, Jacob Strouts, Alex Green and Josh Vincent weren’t involved.

King said: “The squad depth is good.

“In terms of that depth, we know we’ve got a little bit of work to do defensively. I think our attacking options are really good.

“Defensively, that’s still an area we’re looking to strengthen and improve. But I’m pleased with where the squad is at.

“We lost Jacob Strouts to illness before the game. Although he was on the bench, he couldn’t really come on.

“We’ve lost Max Niblett to an injury, and Alex Green and Josh Vincent are still out.

“Hopefully, Kane Smith isn’t too far away but, from the defensive boys on Saturday, we only really had four fit.

“They did a stellar job to get us the clean sheet.

“Tom’s still recovering from injury. He’s getting there but we were mindful, with two games in four days, he probably wasn’t going to be able to do both for 90 minutes.

“When you’ve got the luxury of a front three of Rory, Ash Miller and Wes, it’s a little bit easier to leave people like Tom on the bench.

“He did exactly what we needed.”

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