George Elokobi says the winning culture is back at Maidstone as he looks to go a step further next season.

The Stones’ promotion hopes ended in the National League South semi-finals at Worthing on Sunday, losing 2-1 to an 89th-minute goal.

But the place has been transformed since the misery of last season’s National League relegation.

It needed some lifting after the Stones went five months without winning a league game during a disastrous campaign.

And Elokobi has delivered in his first full season in management, guiding a new-look squad to fourth place, the FA Cup fifth round and Kent Senior Cup success.

That’s benefited both the club and the town, according to Elokobi.

“As a management team, when we set out on rebuilding the Stones, we knew how we wanted to do it,” he said.

“We knew it was going to take time in terms of having a short, medium and long-term project and it was about making sure this club could believe again.

“It was about making sure we have a winning culture at Maidstone United Football Club but more importantly have a winning culture in Maidstone as a community and we’ve got that.

“It’s our group of players and it’s the community as a whole.

“We’ve inspired so many to be great at whatever their aspirations are.

“Through football you can inspire so many, you can motivate so many, you can touch so many lives and I think we’ve done that this season.

“We’re bound to continue again next season and as a football club we just keep building and progressing.

“Football belongs to the community and George Elokobi as a manager has ensured that is in place at Maidstone and that will carry on at Maidstone as long as I’m the manager.”

Inevitably there will be changes to the squad as Maidstone look to build on this season’s progress.

Players will come and go and Elokobi needs to have those discussions over the coming days.

Speaking immediately after the play-off defeat, he said: “We’ll let the players recover and reflect and by the time they get back in, everyone will be in the right frame of mind to have those conversations.

“This is where we have to be mindful to make sure we’re doing things the right way and we’ve always done it the right way, to be honest, under this management team.

“Even the players we’ve let go during the season, we ensure that we treat them with respect and empathy.

“But more so we treat them honestly and always ensured gratitude was there when they were leaving for their contribution.

“They’ve all contributed to our success and we can’t ignore that.”

Maidstone announced last week that club captain Gavin Hoyte would be leaving after five years at the Gallagher.

Whoever else is released can depart knowing they couldn’t have done any more for the cause.

“We don’t treat them as players, we treat them as people first,” said Elokobi.

“They’ve given me everything, they’ve given us as a management team everything they can.

“We’ve pushed them to different levels they didn’t think they could ever reach.

“That’s why they are gutted to lose in the play-offs because they knew we were close but not close enough.

“We have to make sure we use it as an inspiration, a motivation to go away, reflect on a great season, a historic season.

“And then wherever we end up, because some might not be here, some will be here, they need to use it as a springboard to achieving other things in their careers.”

Jephte Tanga and Mo Faal, who finished the season on loan at Maidstone, have been released by Leyton Orient and Havant respectively.

Both impressed in their time at the Gallagher and would be popular signings if there are deals to be done.