Ryman League: Steven King is no magician but his impressive juggling act is certainly keeping Lewes supporters entertained.

The Rooks have begun the season in a blaze of glory, culminating in a thumping 6-1 win over arch rivals Horsham on Tuesday.

Sixteen points out of 18 has propelled Lewes to the top of the table and 23 goals in the last five games have left supporters drooling.

Three different players have scored hat-tricks in the last four games and that is despite the long-term unavailability of record signing Matt Allen.

The key to success appears to be the way King has juggled his squad since the start of the campaign.

Strikers Luke Fontana, Marc Whiteman, Lee Newman and Ahmet Suleymanoglu have already netted 20 goals between them - even though the manager only plays two of them at any one time.

Whiteman scored a hat-trick against Tooting last Saturday yet was dropped to the bench for Tuesday's game with Horsham. Surely a faux pas? The Horsham result clearly suggested otherwise.

King, who took over as manager from Jimmy Quinn in the summer, said: "If you look at the players on our bench against Horsham, most of them would get into most side's first team in this division.

"I took Marc Whiteman out and he had scored a hat-trick on Saturday. I took Luke Fontana out last week and he had scored a hat-trick the game before.

"Lee Newman would have scored a hat-trick against Dorking because he scored two, I took him off and then we got a penalty and he normally takes them. Ahmet has been waiting for his chance and he came in on Tuesday and scored a hat-trick as well. So all four strikers could have had hat-tricks in the last few games.

"We look like we are going to score every time we go forward and I also think we look solid at the back.

"It has been a dream start for us. Everything is looking very good and we now just have to try to keep the momentum up."

Keeping everyone happy is not easy but King said: "I am being fair to everyone.

"It keeps everyone fresh. We have got 17 players and everybody has played their part in the start we have had.

"The key is I let players know what is happening, which hasn't always happened before.

"I explain to them why I do things. I said to Marc Whiteman he was different class against Tooting and we had a big FA Cup game coming up so he would be on the bench. He was happy with that. The attitude of everyone is good."

King is certainly not resting on his laurels. Justin Harris' loan switch from Crawley has been made permanent while midfielder Kirk Watts made his debut as a substitute against Horsham after signing from Bromley.

King said: "Justin is a very good player. He breaks things up for us. He and Paul Kennett hold the midfield together which allows Junior Kadi to get forward and do what he is good at.

"For the last four years Kirk Watts has been the best player at Bromley. He was the fans' favourite. He was getting frustrated at Bromley and he just needs a fresh challenge."

King would still like to add another central defender to his squad and former Wimbledon pro Samuel Okikiolu is training with Lewes.

Tomorrow Lewes are away in the FA Cup to Tonbridge Angels, who have made an unbeaten start in the Dr Martens League eastern division. Watts is cup-tied.