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Ibrahim Olutade scored Maidstone’s FA Cup winner on Saturday but his future at the Gallagher is uncertain.
Olutade struck two minutes after his introduction as a second-half substitute at Hendon to send United into the third qualifying round.
But money is tight and with Scott Rendell signed to lead the line and Ibby Akanbi nearing fitness, Hakan Hayrettin has told the former Leatherhead striker there may not be room for him.
That said, fellow frontman Jake Embery requires an ankle operation that will keep him out for some time.
Stones boss Hayrettin said: “Listen, it was going to be difficult with Olutade.
“Is he going to start? Is he not going to start?
“Is he going to be here? Is he not going to be here?
“With money being tight it was a difficult decision for me to say to him you could be surplus.
“He may still be surplus and he may not be.
“He understands, because I brought in Scotty Rendell, and there’s Ibby Akanbi, but if he keeps on doing things like that, who knows?
“The most important thing is he’s always in the right place at the right time to score.
“He’s just got to work on the other parts of his game.”
Hayrettin credited assistant manager Terry Harris and goalkeeper coach Jim Stannard for the match-winning substitution as Maidstone edged past Hendon in north-west London.
They suggested a change in formation and it paid off.
Hayrettin said: “We had a little conflab and the boys to my left and right have got massive experience.
“They said, ‘Hak, what if we go 4-4-2?’ and I had a little think and said, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.’
“We did that and Olutade has come on and scored.
“He’s a centre-forward and he’s done his job.
“We went 4-4-2, we got the ball in the box and we scored.”
Southern League Hendon - already four games into their campaign - were tricky opponents but Maidstone worked hard and got the job done in their first competitive match since mid-March.
Hayrettin said: “I personally went and watched Hendon, and I think they’re a very good side, strong in every department, but for us it was about making sure we got through.
“They’ve got some experienced players, the keeper kicks it long, they put it down the slope, down your throat.
“Our back four were competitive, we battled really hard in midfield and that last 15/20 minutes was a performance where we had to dig deep. They’re good qualities to have.
“We’ve had players who weren’t fully on it individually but the team was, which is a bonus.
“We have this saying, you don’t have to be the best player, you don’t have to be the best team, you’ve got to be in the winning team and today we were.
“I didn’t really want this FA Cup game as the first game of the season, because Hendon have already been playing, but I’m pleased we won, we kept a clean sheet and the team worked very hard."
Embery, meanwhile, looks set to be out for months with an ankle injury.
It’s a big blow for the 21-year-old who was looking forward to the season after an injury-hit 2019/20 campaign.
Hayrettin said: “He’s got to have an operation on his ankle - it’s not in a good way.
“It hasn’t been right since he did it last time but we’ll see what we can do and hopefully get him right.”
