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Stand-in Maidstone United captain Jordan Higgs thinks No.1 Alexis Andre Jr is the best goalkeeper in the division.
The Frenchman, 27, shone in last weekend’s vital 1-0 home victory against National League South promotion rivals Torquay, making some crucial saves.
Higgs said: “He’s the best keeper in the league for a reason.
"We see that every day in training with the saves he can pull off.
“With the calmness he has, he’s been brilliant all season.”
The clean sheet against Torquay was an impressive ninth shut-out for Maidstone in their last 12 matches.
“Defensively, we’ve been brilliant all season,” added midfielder Higgs. “The amount of clean sheets we have kept all season has been great.
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“If you keep a clean sheet, more times than not, you’re going to win the game.
“If we can keep that up until the end of the season, things are looking good.”
George Elokobi’s troops are third and still eyeing title glory.
On the win over Torquay, Higgs said: “We’re buzzing.
“That was the goal, playing against a team that is near to us and going for the title.
“We want to build a gap if we can, get away from other teams and, hopefully, we can keep pushing on towards the top of the table.”
Wideman Charlie Seaman finally made Maidstone’s dominance count with an excellent long-range goal.
“We see it every day in training, how Charlie can strike a ball,” noted Higgs. “We know he’s got that in his locker.
“In the first game against them (a 1-1 draw in mid-November), he scored a great free-kick.
“We back him when he has a strike and, thankfully, it went in on Saturday.”
Seaman’s goal came in the 76th minute as Maidstone manager Elokobi used substitutes Riley Court, Ricardo German and Raphe Brown well.
Higgs said: “Riley was brilliant when he came on. He added that energy which I think we needed.
“Ric did well and Raphe, straight away, won his headers. Defensively, he was solid.
“We have got a great squad and we’re going to need everyone until the end of the season.”
There is little margin for error, though, in one of English football’s tightest title races this term.
The 28-year-old stated: “You can’t drop points because most of the other [top] teams won on Saturday.
"That just shows that you cannot afford to drop points. But if we keep going, we’ll be up there.”
The Stones’ latest win came in front of more than 3,000 fans at the Gallagher Stadium and Higgs is well aware of their importance during the season run-in.
“It’s a big occasion when we play every home game,” he said. “I think we can use that to our advantage.
"When teams come here, they can feel it.
“They see the big stand, rocking, and that was part of the plan on Saturday. If we get them going early, we can get on top of teams.
“We need that support right the way through until the end of the season.
"That’ll really help us.”
Higgs himself seems to have found his groove after an injury-hit start to the campaign after last summer’s switch from rivals Tonbridge.
“It’s been brilliant,” he said. “It was tough at the start, where I had a bad injury and missed two or three months.
“I was trying to come back and kept breaking down, but now I’m back fit fully, I’m really enjoying myself.”
Higgs is in possession of the captain’s armband as fellow midfielder Sam Corne (calf) is out.
He said: “It’s a plus but we need everyone to act like a captain out there.
“We need Corney back because he’s a big player for us but, while he’s away, we need everyone else to be a leader and to just keep going.”
The midfield duo have had limited opportunities to play together for Maidstone.
“We’ve probably only had four or five games together,” Higgs suggested.
“We have sort of missed each other every time! But, hopefully, we can get Corney back sooner rather than later.”
The Stones visit Slough this weekend before Tuesday’s home match against struggling Aveley.
“Slough will be a tough game,” Higgs said. “It’ll be on the 3G pitch so we’ll be used to the surface.
“Hopefully, we can use it to our advantage.”
