Sittingbourne manager Ryan Maxwell says they need to be at their absolute best in top-of-the-table clash at Chichester | Boss unhappy with performance in 1-1 draw at Burgess Hill

Ryan Maxwell is predicting Sittingbourne’s toughest game of the season so far this weekend.

A top-of-the-table clash in Isthmian South East sees Maxwell’s second-placed Brickies travel to third-placed Chichester City on Saturday (3pm).

It’s all set up for a fascinating clash with Sittingbourne the second-highest scorers in the division with 19 goals in their eight matches.

On the other hand, City boast the meanest defence, conceding just twice in seven games.

“This will be our toughest game of the season so far - no doubt about it,” said Brickies boss Maxwell.

“They’re a good side and we’ll have to be at our absolute best to get a result.

“They’re up there for a reason - as are we.

“They must be well-drilled and they’re incredibly sound defensively to have only conceded two goals.

“We are very much at work this week looking for ways to expose any weaknesses they may have.

“The players have to be at their best in training to take in the information and carry out what we want them to do.

“I’ve said it before but we can be quite devastating going forward and we do create a lot, so it will be a game where we look to put their defence under pressure.

“We’ll have to do that because that’s our strength and we’ll have to be on our game defensively as well.

“For anyone interested in football from a tactical side, it’ll be an interesting game.”

Sittingbourne will need to improve on their performance at Burgess Hill last weekend to take anything at Chichester.

Ayman El-Moghaebel gave them an early lead but the Hillians levelled five minutes later and it ended 1-1.

Maxwell was unimpressed and made his feelings known after the game.

He said: “We scored a good goal and I felt we could have pushed on and taken the game away from them