Maidstone United assistant manager Craig Fagan shares his view on how this season’s squad compares to last

Maidstone’s squad is arguably a match for the class of 2025 after steady improvements this season.

United were forced into another summer rebuild after the break-up of the team who reached the National League South play-off final.

That came with its challenges and they started the campaign light on numbers amid a challenging market in which big-spending rivals flexed their financial muscles.

But manager George Elokobi and assistant boss Craig Fagan have worked hard with the players at their disposal, as well as adding top-class additions in the likes of Taylor Foran and Mo Faal.

They’ve got good options all over the pitch and if Ruben Carvalho and Jamie Yila were fit, there would be some major selection headaches.

Reflecting on whether the squad was now as strong as last season, Fagan said: “It is in some areas and it isn’t in others.

“I don’t want to say too much on that but if we had one or two from last season, this season, I think we would do really well in the league.

“And then the same last season, if in the play-offs we had one or two from this squad, in that squad, I think we would have gone up.

“But the squad we’ve got is where we are and the thing with George and myself is we like to work, we like to coach, so I think the improvement from the start of the season is there to be seen.

“It’s not where we want it to be but it is improvement and when you’re signing 16 players, or whatever it was, it takes time, and I think now people are starting to see a little bit more.

“We’re a bit more exciting to watch, we’re scoring goals a little bit more, we’re more free-flowing, playing a little bit more football, which we’ve wanted to do, but sometimes the confidence isn’t there in the group to do so.

“But it’s looking