‘A lovely young man’ – Sittingbourne rally round kitman Kieran Payne after brain tumour diagnosis

Football is firmly in perspective at Sittingbourne this week after kitman Kieran Payne was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Payne, a hugely popular figure around the club, announced the news on social media on Sunday.

Sittingbourne have rallied round Payne, who is also a matchday steward at Woodstock, as he focuses on getting better.

“I’ve been speaking to him and checking on him and I know a number of players have as well,” said Brickies boss Ryan Maxwell, who is set to visit Payne in hospital.

“He’s been fantastic since I’ve been here.

“He’s such a lovely young man.

“The world needs more people like Kieran, I can tell you that.

“He’s a very nice, humble young fella and to hear what’s going on is absolutely devastating.

“We are fully behind him 100% - everybody at the club wishes him well. He’s a big part of what we do here.

“He’s not just the kitman, but a steward, a friend, a fan.

“He’s an example of just how important people are to football clubs like us and how much they mean to us.

“He sounds in good spirits. It says a lot about his character that he’s more concerned about missing any Sittingbourne games because it’s such a huge part of his life.

“It was quite humbling listening to him talk and how concerned he was about potentially missing games but that’s not important right now.

“It’s important he focuses on the task at hand, which is getting better, and we’ll be supporting him all the way.”

Injuries are slowly easing as Sittingbourne return to action following a weekend off.

They visit Isthmian South East new boys Horndean on Saturday (3pm) and that’s followed by the Swale derby at home to Sheppey on Bank Holiday Monday (1pm).

The derby is an all-ticket fixture and is expected to attract a big crowd.

“I welcome