Striker Marcel Barrington can ease the goalscoring burden on Herne Bay hitman Zak Ansah, says boss Ben Smith.

The powerhouse, formerly of Stoke and Leicester, is one of several players to join Bay ahead of their Isthmian Premier opener at Potters Bar this Sunday.

He joins from last season's Isthmian South East play-off semi-finalists Cray Valley after impressing in pre-season.

Smith said: “He’s a beast! He has played higher before and wants to step back up.

“It takes the weight and pressure off Zak, it’s not all on him to score 20 goals a season.

"Zak has had that pressure since he joined us, really.

“So we have managed to get Marcel in to ease the burden.

“They have got to get the goals, it’s never good to rely on one player and, really, it’s a squad game anyway. But the bulk of the pressure has always been with Zak.”

Centre-back Lexus Beeden is another big signing for the club.

“He has been quite highly sought-after,” said Smith on Beeden, who has previously played with Darlington and Reading, and had trials at Middlesbrough.

“He’s a man-mountain and a good age.

"He came to us highly recommended and he hasn’t disappointed. He has got a lot of potential.”

Herne Bay have brought in defender Keano Robinson, too, who last season was at Hayes & Yeading.

Smith added: “He has got good experience. He narrowly missed out last season on getting into National South (as Hayes lost to Farnborough in the Southern League Premier South play-off final).

“He comes in and adds a bit of experience to the squad.

"He’s a good leader as well.”

With Bay dealing with injuries and unavailability, others brought in include promising teenage striker Kymani Thomas, forward Hassan Jalloh, ex-Sheppey defender Jahmal Howlett-Mundle and former VCD full-back Chris Edwards.

“We have got a little bit of unavailability at the start of the season. Some of it, we have to react to,” Smith explained.

“We cannot start the season short on numbers.

"Thankfully, we have managed to get some in.”

Bay’s boss also spoke about why their match at Potters Bar was being played on Sunday, starting at 2pm, with work to install their 3G pitch still ongoing.

He said: “We asked the league not to put us at home. We were told it doesn’t matter because they can reverse it.

“Then we are put against a club that didn’t want to play their first game at home, either! It is what it is.

“But we are looking forward to Sunday.

"It’s what we worked really hard for last season. Pre-season has gone about as well as we wanted. But it’s pre-season so, largely, it doesn’t mean an awful lot.

“Really, we want pre-season out of the way.

"Let’s crack on with the real stuff.”

Herne Bay’s match at Potters Bar will see them come up against ex-coach Darren Beale, while Deal-born Sammy Moore is their manager.

Smith said: “Obviously he [Beale] will know about us. We are fighting for three points but it’s always nice to come up against good people.

“Darren is well-liked, he still coaches our Academy on Mondays. There was never any falling out.

“After Sunday, we will be wishing them well for the rest of the season.

“They are an established club at this level. We know it’s going to be a difficult game.

“We are not seen as favourites for these games.

"But that brings a bit of intrigue because, for most of last season, we were favourites 95% of the time.”

Smith, whose team visit Haringey on Tuesday, says work is progressing well on the 3G pitch, with other projects being worked on behind-the-scenes at Winch’s Field.