Hakan Hayrettin says he will keep hammering home his message after Maidstone went top of National South.

The Stones have risen from 10th place on the back of six straight wins, including five derby victories.

They completed the double over Tonbridge with a 2-0 success at the Gallagher Stadium, to sit two points clear of Ebbsfleet and Oxford City.

It’s the first time they’ve led a league table since winning the Isthmian Premier title nearly seven years ago and represents quite a turnaround after a winless run that saw Hayrettin come under fire from a number of fans.

The manager stressed it means nothing with half a season to go but it’s nice to be top, all the same.

“The players need to take a lot of credit, the staff need to take a lot of credit,” said Hayrettin.

“We’ll keep hammering into them what’s required every day when they come in.

“This is what we need to do, this is what we’ve got to do, everybody’s playing a part and long may that continue.

“I’ve always believed in the squad, I’ve always said that. I’ve never wavered.

“A few people wavered here but I haven’t.

“My job is to make them believe they are even better than what they are.

“They’re already good as it is but my job is to make them believe they’re better than that, and they are good.

“The league position doesn’t mean anything to me because we’re only halfway through the season.

“This is like the Grand National, we’re in that pack, we’ve got to stay there.”

Maidstone went six league games without a win before beating Chippenham in November - and they haven’t looked back.

“I had a few heart-to-hearts with the players,” said Hayrettin.

“We weren’t playing bad, we were playing good, we just couldn’t score. That was the problem.

“We had key players out, at key times, and everyone got a little bit jumpy and a little bit panicky, whereas I never.

“I got a bit of help from the owners and brought in George Fowler at the back and from there onwards I think things started to change for us.

“I think there’s more to come but people have to accept there’s going to be a time when we’re going to lose and we might go through a little sticky patch again but my job is to keep them on their toes.

“The Christmas period has been unbelievable but we’ve earned the right to be where we are because we’ve worked harder than every other team.”

Both goals came in the first half - Dominic Odusanya and Joan Luque the scorers - as Maidstone saw off Tonbridge.

The visitors changed shape in a bid to get back in the game but the new leaders kept them at arm’s length.

“It was a tough game,” said Hayrettin.

“We played well first half, we were in control.

• Report: Maidstone 2-0 Tonbridge

“Second half, they changed their shape and caused us problems but from my point of view we need to look at this because teams are going to be changing their shape and having a go against us, especially here, in front of this crowd.

“But I’m overly pleased that we kept a clean sheet and we could have had a few more goals in the second but so could they, they could have scored.

“I’ve always said they’re a good team, I’ve never gone away from that, I think they’ve got some good players in there and they made it really tough for us.

"It’s a good three points. I can’t ask for any more.

“We need to keep grinding these games out. We know we’re going to have highs and lows, we’re on a high but we’re still going to be level-headed and we’ve just got to work hard.

“We’ve always said this, we work harder than the opposition and we’ll have a chance."