Entering an unprecedented third year at step three is an achievement worth bragging about, but Kings Langley have set their sights on further progress and, according to chairman Jeremy Wilkins, believe a mid-table finish is within reach.

Two years of relegation battles in the Southern Premier Division, a league packed with sides with bigger budgets, might have been enough for Kings to settle for more of the same.

But that’s not in their DNA as they seek to continue their award-winning progress in a re-jigged Southern League Premier South next term.

Wilkins was not kidding when he insisted that last season Kings underachieved by finishing in 21st, as they escaped the drop due to a revamp of the league structure.

And nor was he plumbing to the depths of hyperbole when he said manager Steve Conroy is capable of leading the village side to yet greater heights.

“I felt we underachieved last year to be honest,” Wilkins said. “Our first season was definitely about just staying in that league and just trying to catch up a little bit. Three successive promotions left us with a lot to do off the pitch in terms of ground grading, and also we needed to make sure that on the pitch we had the right players.

“And the first season we kind of ticked the box of staying up. In season two we paid a transfer fee for a player which we had never done before. We signed four players on two-year contracts, we brought in new personnel and we upped the budget. We did progress in terms of the quality of the team and the quality of the squad.

“The football that we played definitely improved, but league position wise we were actually a little disappointed with it. We felt that we had the potential to finish higher [last season] than we actually did. And going into this season that’ll be the expectation, that we will be a mid-table side.”

The dissatisfaction that came from a protracted struggle at the wrong end of the table might have led to Kings taking stock of their extraordinary progress over the last five years, and then recalibrating their expectations for the forthcoming season.

However their mindset has not been profoundly affected by two tough seasons. They are as ambitious as ever, despite the glaring resource differentials with their rivals, and feel they are stronger for the experience.

Wilkins even confidently suggested that “it’s not unrealistic [for Kings] to become an established side” at step three.

He said: “We’re not looking at it from the point of view of little old Kings Langley in this league just enjoying it for what it is. We want to try and kick on a little bit. We’re unable to compete financially with the bigger sides in there, but we’ve got a bit of a formula that is starting to work for us.

“Last year we had five Under-18 players from Kings Langley make their debut for the first team. That is very much something that we are going to continue to develop – the progression of youth through the club. Other teams go out and just pay money and sign players. We have to do the same, but we can’t do it in every position across the whole team. So we have to find and unearth local talent that will develop with the lads.

“What I’ve learnt is you’ve got to progress and progress at the right kind of pace. It would be easy to go and sell the family silver to create a war chest for this season. It’s not the right way to do it and it’s not the way we want to do it.”

Tales of financial mismanagement are commonplace at all levels on the football pyramid as teams chase quick success, and Wilkins suggests it would be easy for his club to follow such a misguided path.

He is insistent that while Kings must enjoy the journey that saw them rise from step six to step three in three years between 2013 and 2016, they do not want the legacy of their time in the Southern Premier Division to be one of financial meltdown. Sustainability in others words is paramount.

“We’ve looked to increase the budget again,” said Wilkins. “And we, as a club, have got a model that is a sustainable model. We don’t borrow money – we’re debt free – we don’t rely on a particular individual, me or anyone else, that funds it.

“We generate our money through an increase in attendances, we generate our money through making it an attractive proposition for sponsors. All the sort of commercial activity that we do, we put back into the football club.

“The carrot that we dangle with Steve [Conroy] is the more successful he can make that team on the pitch, and the more people that come, the more money that is available to go out and sign players.

“What we don’t want to do is ever have a legacy from being in this league where the club is burdened with debt and we’ve done something that is unsustainable.

“He [Conroy] will go into this season with a bigger budget. It will still be amongst the smaller budgets but it will give him a good budget to go out and get the right kind of players.

“We’ve identified where we think we need to improve. We understand what we need to spend to improve those positions and the money’s there for him.”

The club have since had further cause to celebrate after Wilkins confirmed that the Hertfordshire side had a 40 per cent increase in attendances at Gaywood Park last season and that season tickets for 2018/19 are attracting plenty of interest.

That’s no mean feat in a county with plenty of non-league success stories and where Kings have to compete with the likes of National League outfit Boreham Wood, and National League South sides St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead Town, for gate receipts.

“The money’s there off the back of the success we had last year, in terms of supporter numbers and sponsors who are getting behind it because they want their company promoted where there’s lots of people coming along,” Wilkins said.

“And there’s a lot of positive news coming out of the football club. Sponsors want to be associated with that. We’ve had some very interesting meetings over the last couple of weeks with different people who want to put some money in.”

Meanwhile, the family-friendly and welcoming experience the club strive to provide offered the latest nugget of success for a club that has not had a shortage of achievements in recent times.

Wilkins spoke passionately, and at length, about making Kings Langley an open and inclusive place to watch football, and such sentiments seemed to rub off on visiting supporters as they were recognised nationally at an awards ceremony held at Stamford Bridge in May.

“We won quite a big award at the end of last season,” enthused Wilkins. “Across the whole country Kings Langley was nominated for, and won, the [Non-League Paper] award for the best away supporters’ experience against some big clubs [like Hereford] with far more to offer in terms of facilities than we do.

“But what we do is give people a good day out. They come along, they’re well looked after, they watch a decent game of football and go away happy.”

And with pre-season training now underway and a mix of old faces and new ready to walk through the door at Gaywood Park, the Kings chairman is optimistic that further good times lie ahead.

“People are seeing things develop on and off the pitch and that it’s a good place to be,” Wilkins said.

“We’re looking forward to a better position league wise but certainly keeping the momentum going in terms of how we’re looking to develop the squad. We just want to keep building and I think we’re doing that. It will be season three at step three and, I hope, one of many.”