It's Jamie Coyle plus one at the heart of Maidstone's defence.

Player-coach Coyle has been superb since taking Steve Watt's place in the early weeks of the season and produced arguably his best performance yet in the 2-0 win at Bath City on Saturday.

His talking and organisation make him a big asset in a young back four and, coupled with his own good form, it's almost impossible to leave him out.

That means Callum Davies, who's played the last two games, and Manny Parry are fighting it out for the other spot in central defence.

Coyle was mainly a stand-in as Stones won the Ryman League Premier Division last season but has proved his worth in the meanest defence in National League South.

Boss Jay Saunders said: "I think he was disappointed he didn't play a bit more last season.

"We had other options and I went with what was right at the time and if you look at last season we had the best defensive record in the league, so it was the right decision to make.

"I'm not saying he wouldn't have made a difference but he obviously did a lot of work behind the scenes and he's come in this season and made himself not undroppable but he's put in performances to keep his shirt every week.

"People like Manny, and I know Callum's dropped out of the league, but they'll only learn from playing alongside him."

Maidstone play a behind-closed-doors friendly against Whitstable on Tuesday night.