Jay Saunders saw Maidstone go fifth in the National League after winning at Barrow - but safety is his first priority.

United are only two points behind new leaders Dover after Joe Pigott’s penalty secured victory on their longest away day of the season.

They’re exciting times for in-form Maidstone who have lost only once in their last 10 games but manager Saunders remains grounded.

He said: “I don’t get too carried away. It’s so tight, so you could lose a couple of games and all of a sudden you drop down.

“I think we’re two points off the top and we’re in a good place but, like I say, it’s a tight league and my main concern is we get to the 50-point mark as quickly as possible, know that we’re safe and we can build on that and go from there.”

Maidstone were good value for their win in the Lake District, coping well with a direct Barrow side who were unbeaten at home, before going on to dominate the second half.

New manager Micky Moore wants to make Barrow easier on the eye but it was always going to be more of a scrap.

Saunders said: “They’re big and direct, a very, very big side and we knew it was going to be a battle.

“We spoke about it at training on Wednesday and Thursday, we knew that we had to win our individual battles and the team battle and we did that.

“I thought for the first 15 minutes they were on top - it’s a hard place to go and they try and get you early - but once we got to grips with it, and their shape, I thought we looked the better side and second half we were quite dominant.

“I wouldn’t have thought too many sides will go there and win.

“It shows you the results we’re getting at the moment.

"You look at Macclesfield, they beat Aldershot 2-0 today after we’ve gone up there and won 4-1.

“We are going under the radar but hopefully the boys will start getting the little bit of credit they deserve because they’re being consistent and putting in some good performances.

"It was a really good team performance today.”

Read the match report from Maidstone's 1-0 victory at Barrow