Maidstone striker Frannie Collin has praised boss Jay Saunders following the club’s flying start to the season.

United lead the Ryman League Premier Division with 11 wins from 13 matches and while they lost at Margate on Tuesday night, Stones deserved more against an expensively-assembled Blues side.

Saunders’ methods are working and Collin is impressed.

He said: “Margate have by far and away more than Jay’s got in terms of a budget but the team he’s assembled and put out were a match for them. That shows how far he’s come as a manager. He’s kicked on massively and deserves a lot of credit.

“The fact he’s not long finished playing himself helps because he still knows what it’s like to be a player. He’s one of the boys but he’s the manager when he needs to be.

“He looks after players and is a nice bloke. I’ve always felt the biggest thing isn’t spotting a player – anyone can do that.

“It’s getting players to play for you that’s important. You could have the best player in the world but it’s no good if they won’t play for the manager.”

Read the full interview in Friday's Kent Messenger.