Gavin Hoyte wants to help Maidstone put things right after signing a new deal.

Defender Hoyte is on board for a fifth season at the Gallagher and his experience will be vital as the club look to recover from National League relegation.

The right-back sat out half the season with a dislocated shoulder as United went 25 games without a win.

A calf injury delayed his return before appearing as a late substitute in the final game at Chesterfield.

Manager George Elokobi remained keen to keep Hoyte and there’s a big job on as Maidstone rebuild in National League South.

“I just want do well,” said Hoyte, 32.

“I’m not getting any younger but I still want to be successful.

“The way George wants to go forward is the way I want to go forward - it just felt right to stay.

“I love the club, my family love the club and when you’re feeling at home, that’s when you play your best football.

“Five years is a long time - the longest I’ve been anywhere - and I feel have that special bond with the club.

“I didn’t know if I’d get a new contract, when you see Luque going and a few others not getting signed.

“You never know what’s going to happen in football, what people are thinking and sometimes it’s not always up to the manager.

“You never know until you’ve actually signed that contract.

“It was a tough season for everyone but if we all get on board and all push in the right direction, then I think we can be successful next season.

“We saw glimpses of what we can do under George and now he’s got a full pre-season I think he’ll get us going. We’re in good hands.”

Elokobi is making good progress building a squad and Hoyte has called on Maidstone to recreate the Gallagher of old if they are to be successful.

He said: “We’ve just got to work hard and work together.

“The fans have done their part this season and hopefully they continue to do that.

“It’s so hard when you come up against a team where the fans are together, the players are together and the staff are together.

“It’s very hard to play against that.

“You don’t want to go to places like that and hopefully we can get that back, where no one wants to come to the Gallagher. It can be a big force.

“We had that when we won the league, and we won a lot of games at home, and we can have that again if we’ve got everyone pulling in the right direction.

“We’ve had success and we’ve had a big failure.

“The ones that were here last season and the season just gone, you take the positives from winning the league and you’ve got to learn from what we didn’t do well in getting relegated.

“George said when I spoke to him it’s time for reflection.

“We’ve all got to look at ourselves and say did we really do everything we can?

“We’ve got to look at what we could have done better, what went wrong and try and change it next year.

“Belief is a major thing and George is big on that.”

Hoyte, who will be 33 by the time next season starts, is the old head in Maidstone’s back line.

But with injuries behind him, he hopes to nail down a place in the starting XI.

“There’s going to be a lot of competition for places, which is good for everyone, so you’ve just got to try and keep the shirt,” said Hoyte.

“If you train well and play well, you keep the shirt and that’s how it should be.

“I know my position but I’ve got to perform otherwise I’ll be on the bench and that’s not what I want.”

Maidstone announced a new deal for midfielder and local lad Perri Iandolo on Wednesday.

It followed news of contracts for Hoyte, Reiss Greenidge, Sam Corne and Bivesh Gurung.