WARLINGHAM captain Zack King is demanding a huge improvement from his side against Deal & Betteshanger on Saturday, despite their victory over Old Dunstonians last weekend.
Having won 12-8 against the side second-from-bottom in the league, King was disappointed that he and his teammates let the visitors back into a game when they were looking to extend their lead.
"We're pleased to get a win but we weren't great," he said.
"Old Dunstonians were quite a physical and abrasive side but we were able to dominate them in the scrums and line-outs - but we weren't quite able to pass that out into the loose.
"We had the majority of the possession, but we were just a bit scrappy and not clinical at all.
"We let them back in the game, which was disappointing, because we were 12-0 up and cruising really.
"It's a strong league and you can't afford to take anyone for granted.
"One of their players suffered a nasty neck injury, so an ambulance was called and we were moved on to a scrappy pitch, but I think it was just one of those things, shaking off the Christmas cobwebs.
"However, for most of the season when we haven't played well, we've come out with a result."
Warlingham currently occupy sixth position in the league, but are only eight points behind the leaders Brighton.
And King believes his side will have to continue taking points off the lower teams at the very least if they're to challenge the top three sides.
"It would be appear that the top six can all beat each other, but they are all getting points from the teams below," he said.
"So, if you're going to have realistic ambitions, you've got to be taking points off those teams, that's the reality.
"We're confident, and we have been all season. I don't think that will change, but we've certainly got to dramatically improve."
Looking ahead to this weekend, King wants his side to remember what Deal & Betteshanger did to them earlier on in the season to spur them on to another victory.
"Deal are our absolute bogey team," he said. "They thumped us at our place [35-15], so we know we're going to have to dramatically improve for next week.
"They're a similar side to Old Dunstonians and they'll certainly be out to spoil our ball and make life difficult for us – we've got to sharpen up a great deal."
