Maidstone United manager Craig Fagan expects to see the best of former Stones midfielder Alfie Tuck when he lines up against his old club for Hemel Hempstead

Maidstone United face a quick reunion with midfielder Alfie Tuck this weekend.

The Stones visit Hemel Hempstead in National League South on Saturday (3pm).

They’ll be up against Tuck, the former Queens Park Rangers youngster, whose stay at the Gallagher Stadium proved short-lived.

Tuck, a Wales under-21 international, joined Maidstone over the summer following his release by QPR.

But with starting opportunities limited, he asked to leave the club and his contract was terminated by mutual consent last month.

Stones boss Fagan didn’t want to keep an unhappy player and Tuck swiftly joined Hemel.

Maidstone ran into a fired-up old boy last weekend when Ruben Shakpoke, who had a spell at the Gallagher during George Elokobi’s time in charge, scored for Slough.

The goal proved in vain as Maidstone won 2-1 but Shakpoke played like a man with a point to prove and Fagan expects Tuck to be equally keen to show what he can do.

“Alfie’s a good player,” said Fagan. “Again, it didn’t work out for him here. But his technical ability is unbelievable, so he’ll be upbeat and ready to take us on.

“It will be another tough game. They’re fighting for their lives, the same as Slough.

“Again, the mind is a crazy thing. When you’re playing a team that’s up the top of the league, you run that little bit further and you make better decisions because you want to show how good you are.

“That’s happening to us at the moment. Teams are trying that little bit harder.

“We’ve just got to match that and then play our football.”

On-loan Noah Nzuzi could be pushing for his first start at Vauxhall Road.

Nzuzi, who plays in defence or midfield, impressed on his debut as a substitute against Slough.

The youngster has joined on an initial one-month deal from