Justin Luchford will look at defender Sam Groombridge when Whitstable play Gillingham in a friendly at the Belmont on Thursday night.

The former Maidstone central defender (pictured) has joined the club on trial and will be out to impress against Gills’ youngsters and trialists.

He could be partnered at the back by Laurence Harvey, who is back from holiday.

Town boss Luchford said: “Sam’s trained with us so we’ll give him a chance to show what he can do.

“We don’t know exactly who’ll be in the Gillingham team but it’s a big game for us. The players are looking forward to it and we’re hoping for a decent crowd.”

Luchford wants an improvement on Saturday’s performance when Town conceded three goals inside 18 minutes against Canterbury City.

Manager Luchford said: “We wanted to have a look at lads who hadn’t had many minutes and, to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed with what I saw.

“I can’t take many positives because the idea was to show the depth of our squad but maybe it’s not what I thought it was.

“The effort was there but we made a few schoolboy errors and you can’t afford to do that."

Former Gills player and coach Nicky Southall is set to face his former team on Thursday. Jake Mackenzie, who was with Gills' youth team last season, could also feature.

Whitstable travel to Harlow on Saturday (1pm).

Town have been drawn at home to Hythe Town in the second round of the Ryman League Cup. The match will be played in the week commencing October 15.