Ian Hazel hopes Tuesday night’s 4-1 thrashing of Tooting & Mitcham will give his Carshalton Athletic side the impetus they need to pull away from the Ryman Premier drop-zone.

The Robins moved out of the bottom four after the first win of Hazel’s second reign as caretaker boss with a dominant display.

And the stand-in manager expects his side to build on their Colston Avenue heroics.

Hazel said: “A performance and a result like that should give everyone the confidence and the belief that we will stay up.

“The overall workrate was terrific and that is what I am going to expect for the rest of the season.

“When I took over again I told the squad that there were two things that I wanted - workrate and for the team to pass the ball.

“I thought we did that on Saturday without much reward but it certainly clicked on Tuesday night.”

The weekend’s 0-0 draw with Canvey Island was quickly forgotten as Carshalton put Tooting to the sword thanks to goals from Charlie Ide, Richard Jolly, Barry Stevens and Kenny Beaney.

And Hazel was quick to acknowledge the firepower at his disposal.

He added: “Both Charlie and Richard are good footballers and very intelligent players - they feed well off each other and know where to make the runs and pull defenders around the pitch.

“Then we have the bonus that we have a midfield that will always get you goals.

“Barry is always eager to get into the box and Kenny has a great shot on him.

“Throw in the fact that we have the likes of Craig Faulconbridge on the bench and there is plenty to be excited about.”

Athletic now face back-to-back games on the road against Hastings United and Bognor Regis.

And Hazel is expecting a stern test in both encounters.

He added: “Getting points from our two home games was very important to set us up for what will be two very difficult games away.

“We have given ourselves a foothold in terms of staying up, and I just hope the confidence that was shown in the Tuesday game will carry through.”

Carshalton Athletic’s next three matches: Mar 6 Hastings United (a), 9 Bognor Regis Town (a), 13 Hendon (h)