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I’d have kept Stones up, says ex-manager


FORMER Maidstone United boss Jay Saunders claims he could have prevented the Stones’ relegation from the highest tier of non-league football. The 40-year-old fans’ favourite


was fired five games into the 2018- 19 season, after an indifferent start to theNational League season. His former boss and Stones’


chief executive BillWilliams apol- ogised to fans for having “under- achieved” this season. Father-of-four Jay said: “I was


disappointed to see the Stones rel- egated. Iwas frustrated to losemy job, but that’s football and things happen. “You can’t hold onto it, but have


to let these things go, although sometimes it seems like a very long time ago. “It is a club I have supported


since Iwas a kid and it’smy home town team, so itwas a very disap- pointing end.”


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Serving the whole of Kent We cover the whole county and beyond. Asked where it went wrong for


the Stones, he said: “Getting rid of me. I have every confidence that theywouldn’t have been relegated had I been kept on.” Jaywas snapped up byMargate


as first team coach, and helped steer the club away from the rele- gation zone. Although initially unable to se-


cure deal to suit both partieswhen the season closed, the club an- nouncedJay’s permanent appoint- ment as first team manager on May 13. Jay admitted that a rumoured


move to Macclesfield Town last summer ahead of the 2018-19 sea- son had put a strain on relations withMaidstone. Asked if he would return to the


Gallagher Stadium, he said: “Never say never in football.” His namewas being linkedwith


a vacancy at Sutton United who werewithout amanager.


downsmail.co.uk ‘We’llmake


things right’ IN HIS programme notes for Aldershotmatch, Stones’ chief ex- ecutive Bill Williams said: “We have failed this season and let everyone down. “From the boardroom down to


themanagementand the players, we have totally underachieved, and it really hurts.We all hold our hands up and apologise to all our supporters. “But rest assured that we will


all be finding the energy and drive over the months ahead to make things right.” Speculatingthat fewplayerswill


be left going into the newseason, MrWilliams added: “My gut feel- ing is that for one reason or an- other there will not be many of this season’s players left and that we are about to see the building of a completely newteam. “This is not an easy exercise, so


I would ask everyone to show a bit of patience as the manage- ment find the ways and means to select the right types of talent and character in their search for new players.”


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