Stones put trust in George
Maidstone have held interviews for the vacant manager’s job - but no one matches up to caretaker boss George Elokobi.
Elokobi has been in charge since Hakan Hayrettin was sacked six-and-a-half weeks ago and looks increasingly likely to keep the reins for the rest of the season.
United continue to struggle in the National League but the board have taken heart from improved performances and they like Elokobi, who has guided them to the FA Trophy Quarter-Finals.
“On and off the pitch, George hasn’t put a foot wrong,” said co-owner Terry Casey, speaking after Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat by Eastleigh.
“He’s working with the squad he inherited and these are players that he’s getting more out of than they produced before. It’s just a difficult situation.
“He hasn’t done anything that suggests he can’t do the job through to the end of the season. “We did a series of interviews but, to be honest, we couldn’t find anyone better than George. “If somebody comes along and they have all the credentials then we’d talk to them.
“We’re constantly talking to people at the moment. We’ve told George that.
“He’s caretaker manager for the time being but nobody that we interviewed was more impressive than George, so George stays in post for as long as that remains the case.
“It’s a big compliment to George. I think he’s done really well.
“He’s such a charismatic character. I just hope we get three or four results that would feed into the crowd and feed into the squad and make everybody feel a little bit more positive about things.
“Everything he’s done we’ve been impressed with, his commitment and his knowledge of the game, and his ability working with the players.
“He’s got a real technique of motivating players and getting his squad to work for him and
that has to be admired and respected.
“He overwhelmingly supports his players. He won’t have them criticised. If they’re not doing things as well as he’d like them to, he tries to encourage them to do better.
“He’s that type of character. He’s a motivator. He’s a person that can get an extra 10% out of his players.
“There’s nothing formal in place. We’re just in a position where we’re saying to George we’re looking at three games ahead, so he can do a little bit of forward planning to get the players ready.”
With Maidstone 10 points from safety, the board are realistic about their survival prospects and have plans in place in the event of relegation.
It could still be a season to
remember, even if Maidstone do go down, with the club two wins away from an FA Trophy Final at Wembley.
They host Barnet in the last eight next month.
“We’ve got half an eye on that,” said Casey. “We’d all like to go to Wembley. Nothing would please me more.
“I believe it’s been done three or four times before where a team relegated from the National League has won a Trophy Final.
“So, it can happen and, to be perfectly honest, the way we’ve played, if we had a bit of luck, we can beat Barnet in the next round.
“We can beat most teams in this league. Eastleigh are playoff contenders and I thought we were the better side [on Tuesday].”
Regarding planning for next season, Casey added: “You have to be realistic. We’re bottom of the National League.
“We’ve got to be thinking of life in the National South. You can’t help it.
“We’re not going to stop trying to stay in this league but you have to have one eye on planning for the future.
“It’s a different entity working and playing in the National South to what it is in the National League.
“It’s a different world, so we have to keep half an eye on what’s going on in the South. We’re making plans for both, staying in the National and a season in the South.”
There’s no progress in Maidstone’s search for new investors since Alan Manchett’s proposed takeover collapsed last
month. The door remains open but Casey and co-owner Oliver Ash won’t let the club fall into the wrong hands.
Casey said: “We had a number a people who want to come in because we own the freehold to the stadium but nobody we think would look after Maidstone United in the way that we would look after it. “That’s the criteria. Whoever comes in has got to be prepared to invest in Maidstone and take it into the Football League. “It’s never been any different. Our position has never changed. It’s always been exactly the same.
“It’s always been if somebody came in with the money that could develop the potential in the club then we would let it go, as much as it means to us.”