Margate player-boss Ben Greenhalgh on facing predecessor and former manager Jay Saunders as Gate travel to Tonbridge Angels for pre-season friendly this weekend

Player-boss Ben Greenhalgh will come up against one of his predecessors as Margate hit the road for the first time this pre-season.

Gate will start a run of four successive away warm-up games ahead of the new Isthmian South East campaign at National League South Tonbridge on Saturday, having played their first four friendlies at Hartsdown Park.

Greenhalgh has played under Tonbridge manager Jay Saunders at Margate, the pair also working together with Maidstone.

“When I first worked with Jay, it was only for a few games,” recalled Greenhalgh, whose team also visit last season’s Southern Counties East Premier Division play-off finalists Corinthian next Tuesday.

“He was coming on as a player. I’ve seen him in that environment.

“At the same time, now he’s a very experienced non-league manager. I would be naïve not to take some of his managerial style while adding my own tweak to it.

“Going to Tonbridge will be a different ball game with the size of the pitch and the fact that they’re two divisions above us.

“He will not take it too easy on us! I’m looking forward to playing against them.

“The one thing that Jay was the best at was building a changing room. That’s the environment we’re creating.

“If we can get the tactics right, I know we can be pretty successful.”

Margate came from behind to run out 4-1 weekend winners against Isthmian North side Concord thanks to second-half goals from Brandon Davey, man-of-the-match Jordan Ababio, Lukas Franzen-Jones and Vinnie Bowman - four days on from a 2-1 loss to Isthmian Premier Dover when Ibrahim Olutade scored.

On the Concord victory, Greenhalgh reflected: “It was a really good work-out.

“We changed the team a little bit. We gave people minutes who we wanted to look at a little more