Heybridge Swifts v Maidstone

MAIDSTONE defender Mario McNish has been ruled out of tonight’s Ryman League Premier Division trip to Heybridge Swifts due to a police matter.

The club released a statement last night saying McNish will no longer be available for selection with immediate effect.

Joint-manager Lloyd Hume said: “Mario is going to be a huge miss to our team but we have to accept it and get on with it.

“He won’t be with the club at the moment until the matter has been concluded.”

Along with McNish, the Stones remain without a number of key players, but Hume doesn’t want to rush them back.

He said: “We’ve made a conscious decision that we want to get those injured players back 100 per cent rather than 90 per cent.

“If we suffer with a couple of performance then so be it as we’ll be better in the long run.”

That means Sam Tydeman, Ben Lewis, Lee Shearer and Rob Owen are likely to remain sidelined for the match.

Hume believes conditions will play a major part in the outcome tonight.

“The pitch won’t be the best and it will be freezing cold and it’s going to be more about desire than ability,” said Hume.