Margate boss Reece Prestedge delighted Ben Greenhalgh will stay next season; player-assistant among Gate scorers in Kent Senior Cup Semi-Final success over Ramsgate

Manager Reece Prestedge is delighted Ben Greenhalgh has committed to stay with Margate next season as his player-assistant.

After ensuring Gate maintained their Isthmian Premier status, the club revealed Prestedge and Greenhalgh, as well as first-team coach Elliot Leveson, would be staying put for their 2023/24 campaign.

While working alongside Prestedge behind the scenes, 31-year-old Greenhalgh is still a major influence on the pitch and has contributed more than 15 goals this season.

Prestedge said: “Ben’s been a big part of the last two years for Margate.

“It’s important he stays and wants to do what he’s doing.

“Me and Ben bounce ideas off each other and get on really well, so it’s nice to have that stability as well.”

Meanwhile Prestedge, 37, will also remain for what he hopes will be a full season at the helm.

He said: “It’s just nice to have that security.

“It says ‘This is what we want to do next season’.

"We had a meeting with the board and we were all on the same page. It was nice to have that meeting.

“Hopefully, we can crack on from there.”

Margate are on a three-match losing streak in the league, the latest of which saw them suffer a 3-0 weekend defeat at Billericay, which means they’ll finish 17th.

Prestedge reflected: “If you watched the game without the goals, you would probably say it was quite an even contest.

“Second half, we were probably the better team for the majority of it.

"But we conceded some sloppy goals and it just boils down to both boxes, unfortunately.

“It’s just the time of the season as well. When you have not got much to play for - I know it sounds silly - but we can only finish 17th now.

“The last three games, we have lost all three, but we should have got some points. It’s part and