Stuart Lewis has welcomed the appointment of Harry Wheeler as Maidstone's new manager.

Captain Lewis always saw the former Billericay boss as a leading contender among the various names suggested.

Experienced heads such as Peter Taylor, Chris Kinnear and Garry Hill were among those linked following Jay Saunders' exit.

But Maidstone have put their faith in a 30-year-old and Lewis feels it's a good move.

He said: "He did a really good job at Billericay, he's got some really good experience in his coaching.

"It's an exciting appointment and the boys are looking forward to working with him.

"We saw some of the favourites who were involved and we had a few little chats, who we thought it might be.

"He was always one who I think was in and around it.

"It's quite a forward-thinking appointment and we'll all be training hard to impress him and turn around our season."

Lewis, who turns 31 next month, is older than Wheeler but age is no barrier in the modern game.

The skipper added: "I don't think it's a problem.

"Players these days want to be coached, they want good information, they want to know how we're going to play and what we're going to do.

"You look at Harry's coaching credentials and he's going to have that, so that's the main thing.

"There's a lot of managers around Europe and around the world that are not all 40/50 years of age.

"It's an exciting time for the club and we'll see where it goes.

"There's no getting away from it, it's been tough.

"We were hugely disappointed for Jay Saunders to leave the club.

"He was outstanding for me and got my career back on track at Maidstone.

"I think with the age of the group and a lot of the players never experiencing something like this, it's been tough and maybe that's shown in some of the performances.

"Hopefully now we can get a bit of stability and kick on."

Lewis doesn't know if he'll retain the armband under Wheeler but, either way, will give everything for the cause.

He said: "I was Jay Saunders' appointment and it was a massive achievement for me to get the armband at a club like this.

"If Harry sees me in a different light or sees someone else that can fulfil those responsibilities, that'll be fine by me.

"I'll still play as I do, it doesn't matter if I've got an armband on or not."