Maidstone United loanee Kodi Lyons-Foster on swapping Aldershot Town for the Gallagher Stadium

Kodi Lyons-Foster is enjoying the chance to get games under his belt at Maidstone.

The defender joined United on a three-month loan deal from National League rivals Aldershot at the end of August.

He helped Hakan Hayrettin's side keep their first clean sheet of the season on his debut, a 1-0 win over Torquay, and he made his second start in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Wealdstone.

It perhaps surprised some Aldershot were willing to loan a player to a rival club but not the man himself.

“It’s not so much a surprise,” he said. “I’m in my fifth season at Aldershot, and my fourth consecutive season.

“I’ve been there a while, I wasn’t getting game time, so I spoke to the management and the next best thing is to try and get National League football elsewhere.

“They’re somewhat similar clubs.

“It’s a different style of football here, the management team’s slightly different.

“I’m enjoying it so far and I’ve got enough time to settle in and gel with everyone and try and fight for a place in the team.

“There’s a lot of competition at centre-back. We’ve got Joe Ellul and George Fowler, who I've played with before, and Jack Cawley.

“We’re pushing each other as much as we can to get the best out of each other.

“Hak asked me to come in and give my all - that’s all I can do - and help solidify things because we’ve leaked a few goals. That's what I'm trying to do."

Lyons-Foster had to sit out Maidstone’s 3-1 victory at Aldershot under the terms of his loan.

He returned to the squad at Gateshead a fortnight ago, coming off the bench in the 4-1 defeat, and he was back in the starting XI against Wealdstone.

“We dusted ourselves down and reacted in the right way after Gateshead,” he said. “It was tough to take as a group, even though I