Bill Williams thought he had little chance of talking John Still out of retirement.

Maidstone’s chief executive spoke to Still after the 68-year-old called it a day at Barnet over Christmas.

A chance meeting followed and, to Williams’ delight, Still got back in touch and said he fancied rejoining the club he led to the Football League in 1989.

Williams and co-owners Terry Casey and Oliver Ash were happy with caretaker bosses Simon Walton and Tristan Lewis but the chance to appoint one of the most experienced names in the business was one they couldn’t turn down.

“No, is the honest answer,” said Williams, when asked if he thought it would be possible to bring Still back to Maidstone.

“I spoke to him when he retired but I thought he’d most probably go off to the Bahamas or Bermuda or wherever you go to put a bit of sun on yourself and relax for a few months.

“I spoke to him again - bumped into him by pure chance - and said you’ve got too much knowledge, too much experience, too much knowhow to pack up yet but have you still got that desire to want to do it?

“He said if the right project came along he might look at it, so that gave me an in.

“I had a little think about it and spoke to Terry and Oliver.

“We were looking at Tristan and Simon and how things were going.

“We got a couple of results and then we sat down again and thought we’ve got to get this right.

“It was such an important decision and we looked at two or three other managers and we kept looking at Tristan and Simon as well.

“Out of the blue, John said to me ‘I like the thought of what you’re talking about, about coming back’.

“He said he’d always liked the club and he and I have always got on fine.

“He saw it as a project he could get his teeth into.

“From there, it was a matter of money, what we could afford, what he was prepared to drop down to, and once we got that in place he said ‘OK, I’ll go away, let me sort my staff out’.”

Maidstone went for experience after Harry Wheeler’s unsuccessful reign.

The 30-year-old lasted just four months after succeeding Jay Saunders, winning only three of his 15 league games.

Williams said: “When I appointed John 30 years ago, he was a relatively young manager, and the same with Jay.

“We looked at Harry and thought he was the best of the bunch at the time.

“When we appointed him we thought he had that enthusiasm, he’s going to be working with youth, they will all bond and blend.

“But it didn’t work, so this time we’ve gone to the other extreme where we’ve got most probably the most experienced, knowledgeable manager at this level.

“The only thing with John is has he got that drive and that desire to still do it? I think he has.”