by Luke Cawdell

Faversham boss Ray Turner has all-but finalised his squad for the new season with the capture of versatile defender Toby Ashmore.

The latest addition to Turner’s squad was with Herne Bay last year where he helped them to the Kent League title.

"He gives us different options across the back line and I’m glad he has come onboard," said Turner.

Ashmore is the fourth Bay player to sign on at Salters Lane, following the earlier arrivals of Jamie Maxted, Dan Lawrence and Luke Harvey.

The Faversham manager has undertaken an almost complete rebuild of his squad during the summer and Tuesday night’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Canterbury saw just two players from last season’s squad start the match.

"I was reasonably happy as everyone got 45 minutes and I had a look at a different way of playing," he said.

"We’ve got some great centre halves at the club and I played three across the back and released an extra player in midfield.

"It’s a very new team and we can still revert to traditional systems when we want. We’ve got a nice balance and we need to be sound defensively next season.

"There are times away from home where we will need to be solid while at home we can still play with an attacking style and use the wingers.

"We can use these pre-season games to settle the side down and try new things."

Up next for Turner’s new-look side is a home friendly match against Blue Square Bet South Welling United on Saturday.

"It will be a good test for us defensively against a team from an entirely different level," said Turner.

Do you think thie Faversham squad is stronger than last season? Have your say below.