Steven King believes service has been the key as his strike pairing of Jake Robinson and Danny Mills close in on the 40-goal mark.

Robinson has 22 goals for the season and Mills has 16 after they netted one apiece in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw away to promotion rivals Boreham Wood.

Former Albion striker Robinson has netted in each of his last three games and has seven goals in his last seven appearances for Hawks.

Mills, meanwhile, has bagged five goals in his last seven matches.

It is impressive form and just what fifth-placed Hawks need as they challenge for a place in the Vanarama Conference south play-offs.

The turnaround from last season has been remarkable as the Hawks stayed up by the skin of their teeth 11 months ago.

Robinson had managed just two league goals when King took over as manager in the middle of February 2014. Mills was enjoying a more prolific season with 12 league goals to his name, although that included five in one game against doomed Dorchester.

Their partnership this season has become feared around the division but King insists the rest of the squad should take just as much credit.

King said: “Jake and Millsy are coming alive in the penalty area and are scoring consistently.

“There are areas we have been working on in training with them and they have scored a lot of important goals as well.

“It is a good partnership. I have always liked a little and large pairing and they work well together.

“But you also have to say they are playing with much better players and they are getting better chances in good areas. They are getting the service you want as a striker and then it is about making the right runs or finding the right position.

“Pablo (Asensio, coach) has been working with them on getting into areas one, two and three on the pitch which is where you need to score goals.

“Eighty per cent of goals are scored from those three areas and Pablo has been drilling it in to them to get into those areas.

“Far too often in the past our strikers have been out of the box.”

Whitehawk are currently in the final play-off position in the table but only five points off second place with a game in behind.

It could be a tense final seven games of the season with a cluster of clubs behind them ready to pounce on any slip up.

Hawks host third-placed Basingstoke at the Enclosed Ground today.

King said: “I’m looking forward to it. I would rather be in the position we are in now then where we were last season.

“We will be at full strength and have proved that we can be competitive against any of the top sides.”

King is trying to add to his small squad before next Thursday’s transfer deadline and could even have a new face on board today.

Paul Lorraine remains ruled out for the season with a knee injury and Marvin Hamilton still has two games to serve of a three-match ban picked up before joining Whitehawk.

But Sylvestre Guyonnet is fit again and defender Jordan Rose joined late last week.