Defender aiming to repay faith
Anthony Acheampong has thanked Maidstone boss Jay Saunders for bringing him to the club following his release by Ebbsfleet. The centre-half signed for Stones at the end of last week having played against them in the National South playoff final less than two months ago. Acheampong had been on Saunders’ radar for a while and now the pair are finally set to work together. The 26-year-old said: “I’d like to thank Jay Saunders for bringing me in and showing massive faith in me. I’m delighted and looking forward to starting work. “One of the reasons I signed for the club was to test myself against higher opposition. “We’ve got a great chance at Maidstone with the promotions in the previous seasons. We’ve got a good philosophy here and looking to continue that. “My aim is to keep as many clean sheets as I can, keep the club in the league and kick on from there.” Acheampong, who played with Jamie Coyle at Welling, helped the Wings to the Conference South title in 2012-13 before stepping up with Barnet. He later joined Ebbsfleet, playing 83 times under three different managers at Stonebridge Road. Saunders said: “We got in touch with him last season before he signed a new deal at Ebbsfleet to see if there was any interest but he was settled there and we understood that. “He’s someone we’ve been interested in for the last couple of years. “I’m delighted to get it done and he’ll be a good signing for us. He’s still a good age, he’s a big, strong lad and whenever I’ve watched him play, I’ve been impressed.”