Hakan Hayrettin says Maidstone are ready to prove people wrong after claiming they’ve been written off.

Stones boss Hayrettin feels minds have been made up in some quarters by a couple of big away defeats this season.

It’s been a solid start overall, with Maidstone taking 11 points from eight games, but it’s those 5-0 and 4-1 beatings by Wrexham and Gateshead respectively that stand out to rival clubs.

“Of course they’ve written us off,” said Hayrettin. “Wouldn’t you? Five-nil at Wrexham; 4-1 at Gateshead? I would if I were them but I don’t because I don’t see that.

“I know what I’ve got in front of me at my disposal and they give me what they’ve got.

“Togetherness comes from within and they’ve got that in abundance and they need to keep pushing and pushing.

“I have a way of doing things and I’m not going to change. They know that.”

Maidstone, 12th in the National League, visit Bromley this Saturday. The Ravens, last season’s FA Trophy winners, are two points better off in 10th.

Anyone dismissing the National South champions is making a big mistake.

“We know what we can do, we’re not out of our depth here by the way, no way,” said Hayrettin.

“If I get it right, we’ll be fine, and I will.

“Listen, I said at the start of the season staying up is like winning the league but I know in my own heart and in my own methods what we can do.

“Sometimes we take the responsibility away from the players and play a certain way to get them to do the right things, and we’re good at that.

“We didn’t win the league by fluke last year, we won it because we were organised and we let in the least amount of goals.

“We’re tightening up at the back, that’s what we need to do.

“We can cause upsets and we will be good value for money.”

Maidstone’s injury list reached eight when Joe Ellul and Dominic Odusanya were ruled out of Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Wealdstone at the Gallagher Stadium.

Ellul was left out with a tight calf, while Maidstone lost Odusanya on the day of the game.

Joan Luque, Jerome Binnom-Williams, Sol Wanjau-Smith, Hady Ghandour, Henry Woods and Raphe Brown are the other absentees.

Hayrettin said: “Let’s not take anything away from what the boys have done but we’ve got eight players out injured.

“Not one, or two - eight. They’re all good players.

“I don’t use it as an excuse, I work on the assumption that the squad is there to be utilised and people get their opportunities, and they do.

“With what we’ve got here and the players coming back, I think we’ll be OK.”