Maidstone United manager George Elokobi open to further transfer business

Maidstone manager George Elokobi remains in the market to strengthen his squad.

Elokobi has made 11 summer signings in preparation for a National League South promotion challenge.

The Stones are looking strong and the boss is happy with the players at his disposal.

But they are keeping their eye on the ball before this weekend’s opening league match at St Albans and Elokobi is keen to see how his new-look squad fares.

“As a football club you are always looking,” he said.

“If you always look what’s around, you’ve always got your eyes out there.

“We’ve got our recruitment committee and the head of recruitment Zach Foster-Crouch is always looking at what players and what possibilities are out there.

“But also we’re always happy with the group we’ve put together.

“That’s why we did most of our business earlier in the summer.

“At least 85-90% of the squad is together and we’re happy with the squad we’ve got.

“As a football club, we have to give a chance to the players that we’ve got in-house right now and see where that takes us.

“But we’re always looking.

“Until the league starts, you won’t know how good you are.

“No manager can tell you they know how the league is going to pan out - they’re lying.

“It’s important we analyse the games as we play and it’s important we look at the first 10 games of the season and see if the squad is complementing itself.

“It’s about making sure we’ve got the right balance in the team and we have to look how the team balances itself on the pitch and in games and only time will tell, so we have to be patient.”

Shaq Coulthirst scored twice, adding to Ben Brookes’ opener, as Maidstone ended pre-season with a 3-0 home win over Isthmian Premier Whitehawk on Saturday.