Ashford United’s ex-Maidstone boss Lloyd Hume on welcoming Stones to Homelands for first pre-season friendly

Ashford’s opening pre-season friendly will bring back fond memories for boss Lloyd Hume.

Hume, at the Nuts & Bolts’ helm and also the club’s co-owner alongside Dave Warr, is preparing to welcome George Elokobi’s Maidstone United team to Homelands this Saturday.

Hume managed the Stones for six years, working with Alan Walker - now Ashford’s director of football - before the pair resigned in February 2010.

Also among the Nuts & Bolts squad are ex-Maidstone men Harley Earle, player-coach Matt Bodkin, new signing Joe Ellul and player-assistant Craig Stone.

Hume said: “I’m looking forward to it.

"Obviously for me, I’ve got a long affiliation with Maidstone so I’m delighted to play them in pre-season.

“Bill (Williams, director of football) was there and Oliver (Ash, co-owner) was there when I was around.

“I know Terry (Casey, co-owner), as well. I did some work on the coaching side with them with Alan Walker.

“Maidstone is always one of the results that I look out for. I live in Aylesford so I’m still pretty local.

“Their levels are where we aspire to be - although they’re light-years ahead of us!

“We’re probably not going to get the sort of fans they do, I’m aware of that, but it shows what can happen if you put the work in.

“We have got a few ex-Maidstone players and some that have been around National League South, so there shouldn’t be any issues around quality, but there is a huge difference between being full-time and part-time.

“I’m very much wanting to get back to some kind of normality and games. It comes around quickly - but we have only got four weeks before our first game in the FA Cup.

“I’m not sure how long Maidstone have been back but they’re full-time so we know that it’s going to be tough.

“In pre-season, it’s