Back with a bang!
Regan Booty says Maidstone’s victory at Dartford on Monday was the perfect way to return to the team.
Booty was back in midfield after a three-match ban and played a key role in a 1-0 success.
He’d been a nervous spectator during his suspension, a result of his red card in the win at Braintree last month.
Jack Barham’s header saw Maidstone complete the league double over Dartford and maintain their four-point lead over Dorking in the National South title race.
Few would have predicted that after Darts’ 3-0 FA Cup win at the Gallagher in October, but Maidstone have gone from strength to strength.
“It was a massive win for us, a massive three points,” said Booty.
“It wasn’t a pretty game but we did everything we needed to do, we dug in as a group and I think we deserved the three points. It was a ridiculously good team effort.
“The support we had was unbelievable and to do the double over them in the league after what happened in the FA Cup, I think it was the perfect way to come back into the team.
“The lads have been unbelievable since I’ve been suspended, they’ve won three out of three and I wasn’t expecting to come back into the team but that’s football, you’ve got to be ready.
“To be honest, I hate watching football when I can’t play. I get more nervous watching.
“People were asking me are you gutted about being suspended and I said ask me in three games. If we won the three games I couldn’t care less.
“When you come back into the team you’ve got to be ready because if you don’t perform you’ve got two or three players waiting to perform instead.
“It’s a team game and everyone’s been outstanding to a man up to this point and hopefully three more wins and we’re over the line.
“We’re taking it each game at a time. That’s the approach we’ve taken all season.
“We’ve had some good times, we’ve had some bad times, but if you keep it one game at a time you enjoy the highs as much as you hate the lows.”
Maidstone have lost just two of their last 24 league games since putting their October wobble behind them.
Back then, a run of four defeats in five games saw them drop out of the play-off places.
“I was speaking to Yusuf [Mersin, goalkeeper] about this last week,” said Booty, who moved down from Yorkshire to sign for Maidstone last summer.
“When he joined we were in a bad spell, we were eighth or ninth in the league and losing games and when you look at where we are now, with the record we’ve had for the last 20-25 games, it’s unbelievable.
“To turn it around just goes to show how close we are as a group.
“The icing on the cake would be to finish the season the way we all want to and win the league.”