Herne Bay boss Ben Smith on the departures of defenders Dan Carrington and Troy Williams and FA Cup tie against Horsham

Manager Ben Smith says he couldn’t “rob” departing Herne Bay defender Dan Carrington of his best years.

Carrington has left the Isthmian Premier outfit and re-joined Faversham.

The 26-year-old recently departed Bay alongside right-back Troy Williams, the pair unable to force their way into the side despite last season’s centre-back duo of Dan Johnson and Laurence Harvey being away at the start of the campaign.

“Those lads have done brilliantly,” said Smith.

“I know Troy was only with us for a short amount of time but he was involved in our most successful period of the club’s history.

“Dan Carrington is super hard-done, really. He didn’t put a foot wrong for us.

“But sometimes, you have to make decisions for the next two or three years with where the club is going. If that meant Dan wouldn’t play enough football, then it would be wrong of us to rob him of his best years because he’s coming up to his peak years. Doing that sitting on our bench, being a bit-part player, that wouldn’t have been fair on him.

“He’s too good a player and too good a person to do that to. It’s not nice but, hopefully, he cracks on now back at Faversham. He’s a big signing for them.”

Summer signings Keano Robinson and Lexus Beeden have played in the heart of Bay’s defence and, despite conceding eight goals in five Isthmian Premier games, Smith has been pleased with what he’s seen from them.

“The lads that have played centre-half have done well, although Monday, obviously, it didn’t quite work out [as they lost 2-1 at Folkestone despite Kieron Campbell’s goal],” he said.

“But when you go on holiday at the start of the season, you can’t expect anything else. Everyone has their reasons why they do stuff but my focus is Herne Bay Football Club. I’m