Deal Town striker Jamie Kennedy tipped to have successful season by manager Steve King as Hoops end run of warm-up matches at home to Hythe Town

Jamie Kennedy is tipped to have a successful season by Deal manager Steve King.

The striker, one of the club’s young prospects, netted for the Hoops in last Tuesday’s 2-1 pre-season friendly loss at National League South Dover Athletic.

It was a second goal for Kennedy ahead of the new Isthmian South East season - one he’s expected to begin in their No.9 shirt.

“Jamie has been really good in pre-season,” said King. “He has shown so much improvement. He’s a great lad.

“I know he’s disappointed he didn’t score another one in the first half against Dover. The keeper made a good save and he then failed to convert the rebound.

“There is no pressure on Jamie but he’s our No.9, going into the season. We have really high hopes for some of our younger players, including him and Owen Wilkinson.

“If he keeps doing what he is doing, then I think Jamie can have a really good season. He has shown in one-off games just how good he is.

“Now, he needs to start stringing those performances together and doing it consistently.”

King was pleased with Deal’s overall display despite a defeat.

He reflected: “We were really good, really pleased with how we played.

"We put all the stuff together that we have been working on.

“Even though it wasn’t a competitive game, I felt we did enough to get something out of it. They were pretty strong on the night.

"They played a similar team against Littlehampton and put seven past them.

“We’re in a good place.”

It also provided the Hoops with the chance to play midfielder Ben Chapman and forward Rory Smith, who are unavailable for weekend friendlies due to playing club cricket at Sandwich Town.

“We plan our schedule around it,” said King, whose troops enjoyed a fixture-free weekend.

“We talk about the