Boss praises club’s stance

New boss George Elokobi appreciated the Maidstone board’s transparency during the process of picking their manager.

The directors were open with Elokobi during his two-month stint as a caretaker boss, informing him of interviews with other candidates. Ultimately, they decided the best man for the job was already at the club, with the 37-year-old signing a deal to the end of next season. Elokobi impressed at his own interview, providing a detailed presentation of his plans for the club, to clinch the job.

“I’ve never been sidetracked in any way by the board interviewing other candidates,” said Elokobi, who’s been tasked with rebuilding the club as relegation to National South looms.

“As a footballer, I’ve never been shy of any challenge. I love competition. It spurs me on even more to try and be successful.

“It shows you the relationship I’ve got with the board in terms of them being open about their approach and telling me they were interviewing people, which is fine.

“They’ve got every right to make sure they do it right and find the best person for this role and for that person to try and take the club forward.

“It didn’t sidetrack what my vision was.

“The players go out there and put their bodies on the line for our football club and it was important as the caretaker manager I gave them the structure and the patterns to play from to try and be successful on the pitch.

“We’ve managed to do that in the cup games but we’ve not managed to emulate those wins in the league.

“That’s why we come in every day to try and get a win on the board.

“We know it’s not going to be easy.

“We try and prepare the team as best as we can to make sure we have the right personnel out there to try and win on any given day. “Whoever we’re up against, we respect them in our preparations.

“It was important I did that and it’s important I keep doing that.

“I’m just thankful to the board that they listened to what I had to say and they’ve seen glimpses of what myself and the management team can bring in terms of the performances we’ve seen.

“We’ve seen slight improvements but there’s more to come.”