Seven wins from seven as rebuilt Maidstone United prepare for new season

Maidstone United will begin the new National League South campaign with confidence after completing a perfect pre-season and making significant changes to the first-team squad. The summer has marked the beginning of a new chapter at the Gallagher Stadium, with Craig Fagan preparing for his first season as manager after previously serving as George Elokobi’s assistant.

Fagan and his coaching team have reshaped the squad, bringing in several new players while also giving opportunities to trialists and academy graduates. The early signs have been encouraging, with Maidstone winning all seven of their pre-season friendlies, scoring 27 goals and conceding only four.

Maidstone’s preparations began away at Whitstable Town on 4 July, where the Stones recorded a 3-1 victory. Three days later, they continued their positive start with a convincing 5-1 win at Bearsted. Those opening matches gave the coaching staff an opportunity to build fitness, assess trialists and test different combinations within the new-look squad.

The first home friendly of the summer brought another strong attacking display, with Welling United beaten 4-1 at the Gallagher Stadium. A 3-1 victory at Ramsgate followed, leaving the Stones with four wins from their opening four matches.

As the start of the league season moved closer, the results became even more convincing. Maidstone defeated Ashford United 4-0 before scoring five unanswered goals against Brentwood Town.

The final friendly took place away at Chatham Town on Saturday, 1 August, where Maidstone completed their perfect pre-season record with a 3-0 victory. The result also secured a third consecutive clean sheet, giving the coaching team further encouragement ahead of the competitive campaign.

Across the seven matches, Maidstone showed plenty of attacking threat, while the defence appeared to become more settled as the summer progressed. Friendly results do not carry points into the league, but a run of seven victories has allowed a heavily changed group to build confidence and become more familiar with each other before the serious action begins.

The rebuilding process began soon after the end of last season, when Maidstone confirmed that 11 out-of-contract players would leave the club. The departures included Christie Pattisson, Dajon Golding, David Agbontohoma, David Sesay, Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong, Jamie Yila, Lexus Beeden, Malachi Mbogba, Muhammadu Faal, Nathan Harness and Ruben Carvalho.

Further exits followed during the summer, with Sam Corne moving on despite being offered improved terms, TJ Bramble declining a new contract and Hamzad Kargbo and Jephte Tanga also leaving the club.

Taylor Foran was already under contract for the new season, while options were activated for Leo Hamblin and Riley Court. George Fowler, Lenny Holden and Mark Boruk were offered new terms and have remained part of the first-team squad.

The number of departures created space for a series of new arrivals, with Maidstone adding youth, pace and players already familiar with National League South football.

Ken Charles returned to Maidstone after previously representing the club at youth level. The forward arrived with experience from Welsh champions The New Saints, as well as spells with several non-league clubs including St Albans City, King’s Lynn Town and Cheshunt.

Jayden Davis joined following a spell with Eastbourne Borough, while winger Leone Gravata arrived after leaving York City. Gravata spent last season on loan at Horsham and has previous National League South experience with Eastbourne Borough and Chippenham Town.

Alfie Tuck also moved to the Gallagher Stadium following his development in the Queens Park Rangers academy. The 20-year-old midfielder has represented Wales at youth level and already knows the division from loan spells with Hampton and Richmond Borough and Farnborough.

Maidstone strengthened their defensive options with the arrival of Frankie Hvid and Dermi Lusala. Hvid gained experience in Northern Ireland and Croatia before joining the Stones, while Lusala arrived from Dagenham and Redbridge.

Ryan Hanson signed from Dover Athletic, while Tom Leahy returned after previously spending time with Maidstone on loan.

One of the final additions was Nana Boateng, who earned a permanent contract after impressing the coaching staff while playing as a trialist during pre-season. His signing showed how the friendly programme was used for more than simply improving fitness, giving Fagan the opportunity to assess potential additions in match situations before making final decisions on his squad.

The summer has also brought positive news for players developed within Maidstone United’s own system. Goalkeeper Lucas Brookman agreed a contract for the 2026/27 season after representing the Stones at every age group from under-sevens through to the under-23s.

Mark Boruk has also agreed first-team terms after progressing from Maidstone’s under-16 side through the academy and under-23 setup. The forward had already broken into the senior team during the closing stages of last season.

Their progress provides further evidence of the pathway available from Maidstone’s youth teams into the first-team squad. In a summer dominated by new signings and major changes, the promotion of home-grown players gives the rebuild a stronger sense of continuity and connection with the club’s development structure.

A perfect set of friendly results will naturally raise expectations, particularly after Maidstone finished their preparations with three consecutive clean sheets and 12 goals without reply. However, pre-season results must always be kept in perspective.

Managers regularly use friendly matches to rotate players, test formations and manage workloads, while several of Maidstone’s opponents compete below National League South level. The real measure of the rebuilt squad will come when competitive football begins.

Maidstone open their National League South season at home to Farnborough on Saturday, 8 August, with kick-off at 3pm. The match will provide a much clearer indication of how quickly the new arrivals have settled and whether the confidence developed during July can be carried into the league.

For now, Craig Fagan can be satisfied with the work completed during his first summer as Maidstone United manager. Seven matches brought seven victories, plenty of goals and a defence which became increasingly difficult to break down.

More importantly, the Stones appear to have used pre-season well, bringing together a significantly changed squad before the first serious challenge arrives at the Gallagher Stadium.

Read the latest club updates on the Maidstone United website.