Well over a hundred years ago in August, 1875, Capt. Matthew Webb went down in history, as the first man to swim the English Channel without any artificial aids. Having battled high-seas and the currents for 21 hours and 45 minutes over a 50-mile zigzag course, he reached Calais from his initial starting point of Dover.

Fast-forward to August 2008, and 17 Kent League clubs took the metaphorical plunge into a brand new season, each with a goal of achieving renown on the pitch over the long-haul. After five league games, Tunbridge Wells nudged ahead, remaining the only side with a 100% win record. For the time being, it’s a great position to be in, but the longer it continues, the further it is to turn back.

At that point, questions get asked of whether the side has the endurance or ability to go the whole way - and essentially, you are presented with a stark choice: to sink or swim.

“We are currently the only side in a position to say with 100% certainty that if we win all of our games, we’ll win the league,” first team manager Mike Robbins mused as he spoke with www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk. “If anybody wants to achieve, they have to take things one step at a time. We approach each game as it comes, and our attitude to that will not change. The players at Culverden have their feet firmly on the floor. They won’t be spending their time looking at the league table too much - they need to focus only on what’s immediately in front of them. The management team will do the worrying about what lies beyond that.

“It’s great to think about how far we’ve come in this short space of time, but ultimately Greenwich Borough at home is our only focus right now. We can draw on an extremely satisfying win over Faversham Town in the FA Vase last weekend and try and bring the plusses into this next game.

“At Faversham, we were well prepared, and we took a gamble which paid off. We put Wes Tate into the starting line-up. He’d only signed a couple of days before the game, having trained with us - but he justified our decision fully. On Saturday, we played some of our best football yet. The two-touch passing was fantastic, and for 35 minutes, a very good opposition really didn’t get a look-in.

“I was reading their local paper before the game which was saying we were a poor side, lucky to be where we are, and wouldn’t be there at the end of the season. It’s comments like these which motivate us.”

Keeping the players focused on what lies instantly ahead does not mean Robbins isn’t clear about his ultimate objectives. “If somebody told me I could only win two of my next four games, I’d take our next two league games - naturally. But don’t read anything into that about us not looking to be competitive in other competitions we’re playing in. That’s the advantage of thinking a game at a time; each brings its own motivation.

“Ash, for example, got the better of this club 10 years ago in the FA Vase. It’s come down to this current set of lads to make sure that record is put right in just over a week’s time. I’d rather have got Ash than Sevenoaks, because Sevenoaks will be wanting to beat us after we’d recently won against them at Culverden.”

And Robbins sets out three points to motivate his side going into Saturday. “Firstly, Greenwich were the last side to beat us, back on April 1st at Harrow Meadow,” Robbins recalls. “Their playing side and management might have largely changed, but records don’t. We need to make sure we try and erase that black mark against our names.

“Secondly, Greenwich were one of two sides who have won at Culverden during my time as manager,” he adds. “There is a motivation to exorcise that ghost. And lastly, on a personal note, I started last season winning six out of six with the reserves, before stepping into the first team role. It’d be a personal achievement to match that with the first team.”

So how will Robbins be preparing his squad for Saturday’s test? “We’ll keep working on our two-touch game, and keeping possession. One or two players will also be working on penalty techniques too...”

It’s with this week-by-week approach, handling the individual skirmishes and issues that arise that Robbins looks to prevent his side taking the first of the above choices offered when questions of endurance and ability are raised over the long-haul. It may seem difficult at times to keep the focus so narrow, and not to look at the distractions of the bigger picture, but as the now-famous Captain Webb memorial reads, “Nothing great is easy.”