Co-owner Terry Casey has paid tribute to Jay Saunders before his 300th match as Maidstone manager.

Saunders reaches the figure at Boreham Wood this afternoon (Monday) having led United to the National League after three promotions in four seasons.

Mr Casey said: “It’s a tremendous achievement to reach 300 games when you consider all the different levels of semi-pro football that he’s gone through.

“He’s met the challenges at every level from Ryman South right the way through to where we are now, where he looks very, very much at home.

“You just wonder where it will stop with him, how much further will he be able to go up?

“If he gets us into League 2 I’m sure he’ll be able to meet that challenge as well. He’s that type of guy.”

Saunders celebrated five years in charge in March and two months later led his hometown club back to the top flight of non-league football after 27 years away.

Would Maidstone be where they are without him?

Mr Casey said: “We’ve never even thought about having a different manager other than Jay. It’s not something we contemplate.

“I don’t know that anybody could have gone up three leagues that quickly, so maybe we’ve done it exclusively because of him. It’s possible.

“He’s got all those natural qualities that you couldn’t teach on a management course.

“He’s got tremendous integrity, he’s very honest, he’s a tough character in many respects but he’s very, very fair and he keeps the squad together because they genuinely do have an affection for him.

“He can get things out of the squad that other people possibly couldn’t.

“He’s a real motivator, there’s something in his DNA that enables him to do that.

“We’ve got a very good relationship indeed. We know his family, he’s just somebody I respect enormously.”