Paul Hughes admitted Ampthill Town’s red card make a big difference in Kings Langley’s 5-0 victory on Saturday, but says his players had the belief to win regardless.

Derwayne Stupple was dismissed shortly before the break, and despite the game being goalless at the time, bottom-of-the-league Ampthill were always facing an uphill struggle in the second period.

The Kings joint manager said: “They (Ampthill Town) made it very tough for us to play in the first half. We did have a few good chances which we should have taken though.

“The lads have belief in themselves and they know that even when things are not going their way they will score and get some chances.

“When we got the first, their (Ampthill’s) heads dropped and it was always a case of going on and getting more.”

He continued: “It helps to play 11 v 10 – there is no doubt about that – so it made a big difference, but we would have won against 11 anyway because we were the better side.

“He was quite an important player for them, the midfielder; he had quite a lot of influence, so him being sent off made a difference,” Hughes added.

Three goals in 14 second-half minutes saw Kings assume control, with Nick Jackson, Callum Adebiyi and Alex Campana all scoring in quick succession, before Jackson got his second and Daryl Atkins completed the rout.

Victory also means Kings have kept three consecutive clean sheets, but Hughes insists it is not something his side work on.

He explained: “We had a good record [of keeping clean sheets] last year which we have kept up this year.”

Kings travel to Tring Athletic on Saturday.