Deal Town boss Steve King’s focus remains firmly on big kick-off ahead of short journey to National League South side Dover Athletic

Boss Steve King won’t give any special attention to Deal’s marquee pre-season friendly hosts.

The Isthmian South East side will continue their run of warm-up matches as they travel to Crabble to face Dover on Tuesday.

It has become a regular summer fixture for Deal against Jake Leberl’s men in recent years, with Whites also beating them 2-0 in the Kent Senior Cup quarter-final in December 2024 at Crabble.

While it’s a match they are looking forward to, King’s focus remains on the start of the competitive action next month.

“It’s a great game for us,” said King. “We get on well with Jake and the other guys there.

"They have been good opposition for us to play against over the last couple of years. We played them in the Kent Senior Cup, as well.

“They’re a strong Step 2 side. It’s a good test - but I don’t think it’s more important than Tuesday or Saturday this week.

“With each friendly, we’ll aim to get something different out of it.

"We could go to Dover, like we did last year, and they might put out a really strong side. Alternatively, they might say ‘We played Gillingham last week’ and change it around a little.

“With each pre-season I’ve done, I have set out objectives we want to achieve from each friendly.

“It’s why you cannot read too much into results at this stage. We could play a strong team for 70 minutes, change things around then, and it could make the end result of the game completely different to what it would have been if it was a league game.

“That’s why we just need to focus on what we want to get out of these games.”

Before then, the Hoops visit Southern Counties East League Premier Division Phoenix Sports on Saturday (12pm).

“They’re a side that finished the second half of last season really strongly,”