Maidstone United manager Craig Fagan tells his side to enjoy being top of National League South

Craig Fagan has urged his Maidstone United side to enjoy being top of National League South.

United have been at the summit for almost six weeks but successive defeats, before beating Horsham last Saturday, had taken some of the shine off their efforts.

Fagan’s men, starting the day top on goal difference, moved a point clear after Tom Leahy’s late winner in a 2-1 victory on their return to action.

It’s a position virtually no one would have predicted nearly a quarter of the way into the season but Maidstone are there on merit after 11 games.

They host Maidenhead at the Gallagher Stadium this Saturday (3pm), looking for a first home win since beating Weston on September 5.

“No one thought we’d be top,” said Stones boss Fagan. “This is what I’ve said to the players, let’s enjoy it. That’s the main thing I’ve said.

“Before the start of the season, when I was given the job, how many people would have said we'll be top of the league at this point?

“So we're trying to win as many games as we can to be in the play-offs.

“It just happens that we've won more than everybody else and we're at the top.

“We need to keep these wins going and enjoy it and enjoy that teams are giving us respect.

“We just have to find different ways to win games, that's it.

“I've played in teams where we've been at the bottom of the league and I've played in teams at the top.

“It's easier to enjoy it at the top. But the problem is, when you're at the top, everybody wants to beat you.

“You're a name, they try that a little bit harder. We have to deal with that. There's an old saying, the top of the mountain is windier, so that's what it's like for us.

“We're at the top at the moment, so there's more people coming for us and we’ve got to deal with that.

“