Hakan Hayrettin goes into Christmas proud of Maidstone’s achievements this year.

The Stones find themselves in a National League relegation scrap but 2022 will always be remembered for their success in returning to non-league’s top flight.

It seems a long time ago since their National South title triumph but it’s fresh in boss Hayrettin’s memory.

If he keeps Maidstone up and establishes them in the National League, he’ll be a happy man.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve had the most amazing time,” said Hayrettin, who takes his team to Dagenham on Boxing Day (3pm).

“I think I’ve got an affiliation with the supporters.

“I love the club, it’s dear to my heart because I’ve had success here.

“I’ve now been involved in four championships as a coach or a manager and this is probably the best one for me because no one expected us to do it last season. No one.

“The ownership (Terry Casey and Oliver Ash) have been good with me and Bill Williams (chief executive) has been good with me.

“I’ve tried to implement my ideas and what I think needs to be done and they’ve gone along with that.

“If we stay up this year, then I can build something, for sure.

“When you look back at the history books it’s Hakan Hayrettin and his staff that helped Maidstone get promoted automatically, not through the play-offs, and we’re very proud of that and we’ll cherish that.

“We want to keep doing the good work that we’re doing.

“I know it’s been frustrating for certain supporters but I also said at the start of the season that staying up is like winning the league.

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“Once we can achieve that, then we can look at what we need to do to build.

“I’ve said it time and time again, however good our support is and the fantastic infrastructure we’ve got, we’re not flush.

“We haven’t got the money that most of the teams have got.

“David Unsworth at Oldham (relegation rivals) has made his 17th signing and he’s bought two or three players.

“We’re not in that position at the moment.

“But we are working for a good club, with good foundations, and we need to get the players to do the right things in the right areas to get results.

“They’re working to their maximum, the boys.

“Are they going to be great every week? No, but hopefully we can find some consistency.

“I work with Terry Casey on a daily basis, more so than I do with anybody else.

“He tells me what he wants to tell me and I tell him what I think and we’ve got a great relationship.

“I’m lucky that I work for Maidstone United. I’m lucky that I’m managing in the National League, which is equivalent to League 2.

“I’m lucky because I’m pitting my wits against teams that have got five times the money we’ve got and I enjoy the challenge.

“We’re competing and we need to do our jobs. We need to finish it off.

“Second half of the season, I hope we can kick it into second gear and push on.”