Returning Faversham midfielder Bradley Schafer has come back to a very different club to the one he left, according to manager Tommy Warrilow.

Schafer has rejoined from rivals Lordswood and started his latest stint with a substitute appearance in last Friday’s 3-0 win at Southern Counties East Premier Division promotion rivals Punjab United.

He previously played at Salters Lane at the start of their 2022/23 Isthmian South East relegation season, as he scored four goals, before he left at the end of Simon Austin’s brief tenure in charge in December 2022.

Warrilow said: “He’s at a good age.

“It’s a different animal now, Faversham, and that’s no secret.

“The 3G pitch has gone down. With the club’s aspirations, they’re doing it the right way in terms of building the youth set-up and, now, we have got a women’s team.

“Obviously, the crowds are going up. Hopefully, everyone is being approachable and we’re in a good place.

"The most important thing is to get the team up to the next level - and, once we’re there, we’ll want to go again.

“Brad has come back to a different football club, I’d imagine, to when he was first here.

“Without sounding disrespectful, the grass pitch whenever I went to play against Faversham, it was always a muddy, hard, slog.

“But now, you have got a surface which - if you’re the type of player that Brad is - that will help you, as well. The players I have got now are very good.

“But the players that were here over the last two seasons were very good players and that shows you that just having good players doesn’t necessarily guarantee you success.”

Schafer is Faversham’s second midfield recruit in as many weeks after Jarred Trespaderne also reunited with Warrilow and No.2 Alex O’Brien.

“He’s a tough boy,” Warrilow said of Schafer. “He’s skilful but he’s not frightened of a challenge. He gives us energy and legs in there - like Jazz does, as well.

“We have just been looking at a few things in the last couple of weeks and these two boys became available.

“I have come up against Brad many times and, on his day, that boy is an unbelievable player. It’s the first time I’ve managed him and I’m hoping that I can get some sort of consistency into his game.

“But like everyone, he’ll have to fight his way into the team.”

Town rarely looked troubled at Punjab as they eased past the hosts in front of a 352-strong crowd, with the gate money split in support of injured United captain Lea Dawson and keeper Owen Bushell.

Warrilow reflected: “There was a good crowd, which was good because they were raising money for Daws, and their goalie (Bushell). I believe he was involved in a bit of an accident on his way home from Lydd so the gate got shared between them.

“It was a good gate, which ticked the box for the reason for having the fixture on the Friday. From our point of view, it was a very good performance.

“I’m not one to over-talk things, I always try to keep level-headed, but the biggest compliment was that every person I spoke to in the bar was so complimentary about our performance.

“It’s a difficult place to go to. They’re a good side but we have kept a clean sheet and, obviously, got three very good goals.

“We could have had a couple more if our choice of pass was right in that final third, but I’m not going to try and look at any sort of negatives.”

Top scorer Tashi-Jay Kwayie bagged a hat-trick for the Lilywhites, which included a penalty.

Warrilow said: “He’s playing well. He’s enjoying his football and he has got a smile on his face. He took his goals well.

“Obviously, one was a penalty, but he’s confident enough to step up and take that. We have had Tash at two other clubs and - and I’m not just saying it - we seem to get the best out of him.

“We got him from Tonbridge on loan [at Thamesmead Town] and he got something like 10 in 15 games, and he got called back. Then, I took him to Ashford.

“Everyone knows Tash’s job. Being a model, sometimes, he gets called up to go out somewhere.

“I made the chairman, Gary Smart, aware of that before we signed him but, whoever signs him, they have got to accept that. It’s his job.

“Touch wood so far, there’s only been one occasion [when he’s missed a match], but we’ll just keep taking it as it comes. He’s playing very well.

“But not taking anything away from Tash, I was looking for a weak performance from Friday night - and there wasn’t one, really.

"Everyone was on it.”

The Lilywhites host high-flying Southern Combination League Division 1 side Billingshurst in the FA Vase second round on Saturday.

Warrilow said: “They’re a team from a different league, a different environment.

“Looking at some of the draws, we easily could have drawn someone in our league. They got a 3-2 win against Redhill [earlier in the competition] but, again, I’ll just treat it like any other game.

“Obviously, we have got bits on them but I have always concentrated on us. The problem - and it’s a lovely problem - is that the boys have set a bar now with Friday’s performance.

“In general, we have been good this year, even though there’s been the odd occasion when we haven’t been, but on Friday, we really set a level.

“We just want to sustain that as much as we can.”

Town will play ground tenants Faversham Strike Force in the Challenge Cup on Tuesday.