Dan Lawrence admits he is pleased to see Herne Bay boss Ben Smith back in football.

Lawrence followed Smith to Winch’s Field this summer after playing under him in the Canterbury City side that reached the FA Vase semi-final last season.

The midfielder was publicly supportive of the manager after he was sacked on the back of comments made in an interview with the Kentish Gazette.

“It was obviously disappointing because we were building something good down at Canterbury and although we didn’t have a great league season, what we built in the Vase and the squad he was building was good,” said Lawrence.

“A lot of people may have just seen Ben Smith as a manager but first hand when you saw him at Canterbury he was the kit man, he was the social media man, he was going out and getting sponsors, he did a lot more.

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“We don’t know exactly what happened behind closed doors at Canterbury but he’s a good bloke and shouldn’t be out of football for a long time, I’m glad to see him back.

“It was a tough season for me because I was out injured. I had my knee operation back in May 2018 so I was out for three-quarters of the season.

“Even then Ben was great with me, he was keeping me involved, ringing me every week, doing bits separately for me at training.

“What we did in the Vase, little Canterbury City getting to a Vase semi-final, the trip we all went on together was great. It was one of the more enjoyable seasons, not just on the pitch but for the relationships we built off it as well, it’s just a shame the way it ended.”

Lawrence is now gearing up for a season back at his local club, where he looks set to naturally adopt a leadership role within the young squad.

He added: “I’m very happy, I live in Herne Bay, I coach for Herne Bay youth so it’s in the blood. It was good to move back.

“I was chatting to a few clubs locally but as soon as Ben took over at Herne Bay we made contact and it was a fairly easy decision really.

“The fans are great down there, hopefully with the new lads coming in and a bit more financial backing it should give the club a lift. If you look at some of Herne Bay’s results last year, you could tell they had some promising youngsters.

“They beat some of the top sides but it was probably just a bit of that experience they were lacking in those games where you aren’t playing particularly well but can still get results.

“Hopefully myself and a few of the other lads coming in can add that.”

Bay begin their pre-season at home to National League South Maidstone United on Saturday.

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