Maidstone United manager George Elokobi won’t disrespect National League South opponents with rash promotion predictions

Maidstone manager George Elokobi won’t be making rash promotion statements - out of respect for the other sides in National League South.

United, along with fellow relegated clubs Torquay and Yeovil, are among the favourites to go back up.

Elokobi knows what he wants as he begins his first full season in charge at the Gallagher Stadium.

“My expectations are a squad that’s going to be competitive,” he said. “It’s a long season and we want to be competitive in every single game we go into.

“At the moment, my expectation is there is a squad here that can compete and compete well.

“As a manager, you’re not scared of being beaten by your statements, it’s not that. First, we have to show respect to all the teams in the National League South.

“Every game is going to pose a different challenge and we have to be competitive in the first place to earn the right to have a foothold in any game.

“We’ve seen in pre-season if you’re not competitive, you get beat.

“My ultimate goal is to work with the team leading into each game, showing respect in our detail and how we prepare. I always talk about the effectiveness of the performance and if we get that right, the result will take care of itself.”

Building works at the Gallagher mean Maidstone will play the next four games away. They visit Bath, Braintree, Yeovil and Hemel before ending August at home to Taunton.

Elokobi has no problem with that.

He said: “There are no concerns. The football pitch doesn’t change. The goals don’t change. You’re coming up against 11 players and that’s what we need to think about, whether we are playing home or away.

“We have some travelling to do but it’s not a problem.”

Fit-again right-back Gavin Hoyte will captain the Stones this season. Both George