Lewis Knight feared he’d blown his chance at Maidstone - but things are looking up.

Knight struggled to make his mark after leaving St Albans to go full-time at the Gallagher.

He quit his job for day-time training but injuries and a lack of form made for a frustrating pre-season.

The arrival of Ryan Johnson pushed him down the pecking order in central defence and he didn’t feature in the league until the Bank Holiday Monday win over Chelmsford, when George Elokobi was forced off with a hamstring problem.

He covered for Elokobi at Wealdstone last weekend and while he didn’t do himself justice there, the big man was excellent in Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Dulwich Hamlet, this time deputising for Johnson.

Knight said: “I had a sticky pre-season, with injuries and stuff, and I knew I had to be patient.

“It tested me but you have to be strong-minded.

“You’re thinking, ‘it’s my first taste of full-time football, I’m not in the team’ and you start to think, ‘have I blown it?’

“But you can’t give yourself negative thoughts, you have to think of the team.

“We’re here for the team and if the team are doing well, you have to look at the bigger picture.

“At the end of the day, we’re here to get three points for the team.”

The challenge for Knight is to stay in the Maidstone side after laying down a marker with his performance at Champion Hill.

He said: “When your time comes you have to take it and keep the shirt. That’s what all the boys are doing.

“It’s a weird one with me. I’m the type of player that needs a run of games to show my best form.

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“I know it shouldn’t be like that - I need be fit and ready from the start - but I’ve had to be patient and hope the management can be patient with me.

“I can’t sit back and think that’s me sorted because I’ve had one good game.

“I’ve got to keep kicking on and on, which is what you need to do as a professional.

“My fitness is coming along and I’m working hard in training.

“I’m giving myself the chance to do well when I get on the pitch.

“It’s cut-throat and if I don’t take my chance, someone else will.

“That drives you on. If you’re the only centre-half you could think, ‘oh, I don’t have to do it here’ but you’ve constantly got to perform when there’s competition.

“We’re a hardworking side. I’ve been in teams that have had more quality but they’ve not worked as hard.

“That’s something you can’t instil - players either want to work hard or they don’t.

“If we keep doing that and work on our quality, we will be a good team and a hard team to beat.”

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