Maidstone boss Jay Saunders will have to show his ruthless side.

Saunders plans to make big changes this summer and that means saying goodbye to a number of players.

In an ideal world he’d have kept the nucleus of his squad but, speaking after Saturday’s final game of the season against FC Halifax, that seems unlikely.

Saunders, who’s set to let players know their fate this week, said: “We’re going to have to be quite ruthless.

“I think there’ll be quite a big turnover again - I think a lot of players will leave - and coming in will have to be the right ones.”

Saunders is used to making big calls and knows not everyone will agree with his decisions.

He said: “You’re never going to keep everyone happy, are you?

“But I’ve had to do that in the past.

“I remember the Steve Watts of this world, the Frannie Collins and people like that.

“Everyone moans about it but that’s part of your job and I’ll only do what I think is right for the club.”

Saunders’ priority when rebuilding his squad is to replace Joe Pigott’s goals – easier said than done.

He said: “It’s quite obvious we need to get goalscorers into the side.

“The trouble with that is they cost a lot of money.

“We were very fortunate we had Pigott living down the road - we paid him good money, don’t get me wrong - and it suited everyone.”