Departing Deal Town legend Connor Coyne reflects on ‘special ending’ to his time with the club being sealed with Southern Counties East Premier Division title success

Departing Deal fans’ favourite Connor Coyne has reflected on the “special ending” to his time with the club.

Striker Coyne and defender Liam Hark are among those set to move on from the 2023/24 Southern Counties East Premier Division champions this summer as Deal prepare for Isthmian League football.

One of their all-time leading scorers, Coyne started Deal’s final game this campaign - a 3-0 home win over Stansfeld last month - as captain in a memorable farewell after almost a decade with the Charles Sports Ground outfit.

“That was really nice of Deal,” said the 31-year-old.

“Obviously, I hadn’t been playing that much but, for them to give me a special ending like that, making me the captain when there were about 1,600 people there, that was really nice. I got my family there.

“It would have been nice to get a goal - I was close - but it was still nice enough.

“Everyone made me feel really special that day and it was a nice goodbye.”

Coyne hadn’t played as much as he would have liked in recent years for Steve King’s side but opted to stick around due to the affiliation he has with the club - a decision vindicated by a title medal.

He said: “The previous season or two, I hadn’t really played as much as I would have liked to.

“But I just love the club. Where I had been there for so long, I felt like part of the furniture.

“I always enjoyed being around the lads and always got on with Kingy, so I just loved being around.

“Obviously, helping with the odd goal here and there was handy!”

The introduction in the 2023/24 season of youngsters Jamie Kennedy and fellow forward Wes Hennessey, joining the likes of Aaron Millbank, Rory Smith and brothers Tom and Ben Chapman, meant competition for places in forward areas simply became