It was love at first sight when the Sittingbourne management team watched Jamarie Brissett in action against them for Beckenham.

Manager Ryan Maxwell was so impressed with the winger following the 1-0 defeat against the promotion chasers in late January that he kept tabs on the player before making his move.

Brissett came with some glowing references and has now joined the Brickies following a season at Beckenham, who finished fourth in Isthmian South East.

“He did extremely well against us,” said the Brickies boss. “He was the stand-out performer in the game, loads of energy, creativity, enthusiasm and I actually spoke to him afterwards to congratulate him on a very good performance.

“I said to him he could be playing higher but at that point my focus was on Sittingbourne and moving them away from the bottom four.

“All the management team were very impressed with him on the day. Since then other people have confirmed what it is he does bring. I kept tabs on him and his attitude has already been great in terms of what he is doing during the off-season. I’m very pleased to get him in the building.

“He’s a good age and someone who wants to improve as well.”

Nicknamed ‘Magic’, the winger netted seven goals last season for Becks, and will hopefully hit the ground running next season.

Maxwell said: “He is all-action, he has ability, he is energetic, he is front-foot. He wants to drive with the ball, that is the kind of player a fan does like to see.

“We are looking forward to seeing him in a Sittingbourne shirt and with the attributes he has maybe we can add one or two more as well.

“He can play higher but it is about being consistent which is what I want to see in his game.”

Another newcomer to Sittingbourne is centre-half Darren Phillips.

He ended the season at Faversham, having previously been with play-off chasing Heybridge Swifts in Isthmian North where he netted eight goals.

Phillips is big in stature and Maxwell hopes he’ll have a big impact too.

The defender has already been getting in the pre pre-season sessions ahead of the new campaign.

Maxwell said: “He is incredibly dominant in the air, excellent in both boxes, a goal-scoring centre-half and a leader. He is someone I have liked for a long time and I am sure Sittingbourne will be great for him.

“He is 24 but he has been around for a long time.

“He needs to realise all of the potential that he has, that is the reason he has signed here. He had many other options this summer but he knew we wanted to bring him in and give him that kind of platform and environment.

“He may need a few months, to improve a couple of aspects of his game. Give him a full season and I have no doubts that at the end of the season his phone will be ringing.”

The Brickies have also added forward Josh Osude to the squad, moving to the club after spells with Coggeshall Town and Grays last season, netting nine goals.

Maxwell is pleased with the club’s recruitment so far, saying: “I have lots of players being offered to me. Recruitment choice isn’t an issue, it’s about getting the right person through the door. We are very particular with who we bring in.

“We are 100% where we want to be. We have retained some very good players and recruitment is going very well.”