Manager Jay Saunders has pulled rank on his Maidstone players.

Saunders has decided on an overnight stay in Devon before facing Torquay in the FA Trophy first round on Saturday.

United travelled on the day when the sides met in the league last month and the squad wanted to do so again.

But Saunders felt the journey took its toll on the team as they clung on for a 1-0 victory and is taking no chances.

He said: “We did it on the day last time and second half the boys were struggling after a
six-hour coach trip, so we’ve taken that on board and we’ll go down Friday morning.

“The players wanted to go on the day this time as well but in the second half our legs were gone and, to be fair, there wasn’t much complaint when I said we were going overnight.

“This time, we’ll make a weekend of it and prepare as best we can. Reading have been kind enough to give us their training ground so we can stop there on the way and go through set-pieces and things.”

Maidstone have big ambitions in the FA Trophy this season. It’s a competition Saunders would love to do well in, with a genuine chance of reaching a Wembley final.

He said: “’I’m gutted about the draw because Torquay have been in unbelievable form lately and that second half down there, they were one of the best sides we’ve played. It’s not an ideal draw for us but the Trophy is a good opportunity to get to Wembley. You win three or four games and you’ve got a good chance.”

Maidstone were bang in form on their last trip to Torquay but a few weeks on are rebuilding confidence after back-to-back 4-0 defeats in the National League and the 4-1 FA Cup exit at MK Dons.

A goalless draw at Maidenhead on Saturday was a step in the right direction.

Saunders said: “We’ve got to get back to the levels we were at. There’s no doubt about it, we’ve dropped over recent weeks. You always find when you have a blip there’s normally reasons for it.

“A big part of it for us was that Boreham Wood game. Whatever way you look at it, we had six or seven out and were really stretched."