Max Watters says he couldn’t wait to sign for Maidstone after deciding to go out on loan.

The Doncaster striker has joined the Stones on an initial one-month deal, making his debut against Hampton last weekend.

He’s played six times for Rovers this season, with five of those appearances in League 1.

His last outing came as a late substitute in front of 30,000 fans as Rovers drew 0-0 at Sunderland at the end of January.

It must have been tempting to stay on at the Keepmoat and wait for more chances but the 20-year-old, who joined Doncaster from Ashford in 2018, was keen to get regular football.

“It’s been a good season for me,” said Watters, whose Rovers boss Darren Moore is good friends with Stones head coach Hakan Hayrettin.

“It was 50:50 whether I wanted to go out on loan or stay but I thought I need the minutes and it’s good to play every week.

“Maidstone’s a brilliant club, I knew I wanted to come straight away.

“It’s not too far from me and I’ve always known about Maidstone.

“They’re a good club, a big club, so when I got the opportunity I couldn’t wait to come here.

“I’m here for a month, to try and do my best for the team and myself and we’ll see where we go from there. It’s a brilliant team.

"I can see the way they like to play, they like to put the ball on the floor and pass it around, which is good.

“I think they’ll do well with the players they’ve got, they’re a strong side and hopefully they can get in the play-off positions.”

Watters trained with the Stones last Friday and went straight into the starting XI the following day.

He nearly scored in the first few minutes and had a goal ruled out for offside just after the break in a bright performance.

Watters said: “I trained on Friday so I met all the boys and they’re a good bunch of lads.

“I just got told to do my thing, get at the full-back, get my crosses in, get my shots off and try and affect the team as well as I can.

“I had the chance in the first couple of minutes.

“It took an awkward bounce but I need to take those opportunities in future games.”

Watters’ move to the Football League came off the back of a string of impressive performances for Ashford.

Word started to get round with Doncaster, then managed by Darren Ferguson, quick out of the blocks.

“I think I played about 20 games for Ashford and it was going well and I was scoring goals,” said Watters.

“There was interest and Darren Ferguson wanted me to sign so I couldn’t turn it down.

“He’s a brilliant manager, unbelievable to talk to.

“Looking up to a manager like that, it’s what you want to play under.

“He makes you feel welcome, he’s not intimidating, he welcomes you into the team.”

• Friends in high places
• Stones sign Watters

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