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Faversham Town have signed goalkeeper Luke Watkins from Ramsgate ahead of their season opener at home to Guernsey on Saturday.
Watkins looks set to slot straight into the side, filling in for the injured Simon Overland who re-joined the club earlier this summer.
The Lilywhites are, meanwhile, hopeful of welcoming back James Miles and Michael Freiter following respective injury problems.
Joint-manager Phil Miles said: “We don’t want to put pressure on Simon Overland to rush back.
“We’ve got a couple of good under-23 goalkeepers but we don’t want to throw them in at the deep end.
“With Simon we’ll have to wait and see what we do when he returns and he’s 100% fit.
“James (Miles) tweaked his knee in the Romford game and didn’t train last week but he should be okay for Saturday. Michael Freiter hurt his ankle against Canterbury and has been out for a couple of weeks but’s been training so should be okay.”
The message from Miles and co-manager Danny Chapman to their young and new-look squad will be to play with freedom this season.
“With the youngsters it is about going and expressing themselves in the right areas, but also trying to become experienced players at a young age,” Miles added.
“But really, play with no fear. Go and express yourselves but also do the right things in the right times, don't overcomplicate things.
“They’ve got nothing to prove to us, we’ve seen enough from them in pre-season to know they can compete at this level.
“We want them to go and enjoy it as well.
“We’re really happy with where we are.
“We believe that all the players we’ve signed can perform in this league. We’re just a club giving them a stepping stone at this level.”
Faversham are seeking a fast start in Isthmian South East having last season slipped into a relegation battle by the time Miles and Chapman arrived in November.
Their campaign gets under way (2pm kick-off) at home to a Guernsey side expected to be boosted by the return of the club’s all-time leading scorer.
Miles said: “I don’t think Guernsey will have many changes. I know they’ve got one addition in Ross Allen, he’s a centre-forward.
“He scored all of their goals previously, I think he went travelling in New Zealand last year and didn't play, but I've seen he's back.
“They like to play football, they're one of the best footballing sides and I think with this Ross Allen back he could be the difference for them to not be down in that bottom four like they were last year.”
Faversham, who travel to Hastings on Tuesday, have been drawn away to Isthmian South Central side Tooting & Mitcham in the preliminary round of the FA Cup (August 24).
