John Embery wants his Herne Bay side to hit the ground running at the start of the Bostik South East season.

Bay start with a local derby at Faversham Town on Saturday.

They did the double over them last season and hope to continue that run to give themselves a flying start.

Joint-manager Embery said: “We need to make sure we get off to a good start. We feel like we can do well this season but we do not want to be playing catch up.

“If you start well that breeds confidence and belief in the side and we know we have the squad to be making the play-offs.

“Everyone is excited to get the season underway and you can tell as we get closer to that first game players tip toe around so they don’t pick up any injuries.

“It’s always a hard place to go at Faversham as they are a well organised side and have a good following.

“We are confident we can deal with their threats and get off to a winning start but we don’t want to take anything for granted at this stage.”

Bay have been boosted by the news that goalkeeper Ben Hunter will not be out for as long as first thought.

After receiving the results of an MRI scan he will only miss the first few matches of the season.

Embery said: “Ben should only be out for about five weeks after getting the results of his scan back. It has come back a lot better than we thought so that’s good news for everyone.

“We will look to bring a goalkeeper in on loan while he’s out injured so we will be taking Louie Catherall on loan from Gillingham for a month.

“He’s a first year pro with the club and is a good size and a good shot stopper.”

Bay have lost six of their eight pre-season matches against tough opponents from the National League and Bostik Premier.

Embery added: “Pre-season is pre-season. It’s not always about the results it’s about getting out of the games what you need to.

“We’ve played well in our matches except the one at Tonbridge Angels. Pre-season results counts for nothing and it’s all about what you do on that first game of the season.”