Maidstone manager Jay Saunders says his side ‘owe Faversham one’ ahead of the Kent derby in Ryman League, Division 1 South.

The Stones host the mid-table Lilywhites at Bourne Park on Saturday looking to avenge a 2-1 defeat at Salters Lane in November.

The defeat – which included a goal from former United striker Adrian Stone – ended Stones’ 14-game unbeaten league run and sparked a run of five straight league defeats which dented their title hopes.

Saunders (pictured) said: "We do owe them one if I’m honest. We had been in great form until we went there and that was the start of a bad run for us.

"I’m trying to look at it as just another game but all of our games from now on are big games.

"If we can play like we have in the last couple of games, then I am sure we can get the three points."

Saunders insists he still does not look at the table but if he did, he’d see that Tuesday night’s dramatic 4-2 victory at Merstham took the Stones back to fourth, eight points behind leaders Bognor.

Veteran keeper John Whitehouse, 34, who counts Dover and Dartford among his former sides, joined from Welling last Friday, while midfielder Karl Murray, 29, has arrived from Sutton. The ex-Shrewsbury man has also played for Woking and Grays.

Saunders said: "We’ve brought in a couple of players in the past week in John Whitehouse and Karl Murray who have got bags of experience and they are going to be invaluable."

Michael Phillips could miss the final weeks of the season after a possible knee ligament injury at Merstham but otherwise Maidstone are at full strength.