Maidstone United manager Craig Fagan on how he wants his side to play in National League South next season

Manager Craig Fagan wants Maidstone United to be more exciting in attack next season.

The Stones built a reputation for clean sheets and being hard to break down under former boss George Elokobi.

Elokobi’s pragmatism won plenty of football matches as Maidstone twice finished in the National League South play-offs, reaching the semi-finals and final.

And they only missed out on a third successive top-seven finish on goal difference as Elokobi stood down after three memorable years in charge at the Gallagher Stadium.

Fagan, who was Elokobi’s assistant manager, wants to retain the qualities that made Maidstone a force to be reckoned with under the former Wolves defender.

But he’s also keen to put his own stamp on the side which, unsurprisingly for an ex-forward, involves offering more of a threat in the final third.

“I want to be similar to what I had with George in terms of being hard to break down and organised,” said Fagan.

“But I think we saw from this season, we need to be a bit more dynamic in the final third, a bit more reliable in the final, so we can play more attacking football and keep the ball in the final third more, play patterns higher and just be a bit more exciting to watch in that final third.

“I think there were times where we weren’t as exciting because we didn’t look after the ball high enough up the pitch but I still want to be able to keep clean sheets.”

There’s no right or wrong way to play football but Fagan, the former Hull and Derby attacker, is keen to bring entertainment to the Gallagher.

He added: “I watch a lot of the Premier League and I do a lot of radio stuff, Championship, League 1, League 2, and the fans still want to be entertained.

“They want to see crosses going into the box, they want