Kevin Lokko is dreaming off a play-off push with Maidstone after signing a new two-year deal at the Gallagher.

The 21-year-old England C defender can’t wait to have another crack at the National League after helping Stones beat the drop this season.

Lokko, whose new deal runs until 2019, has been tipped to play in the Football League and he believes United could take him there.

He said: "I loved my year at Maidstone and I’m hungry for more success with the club. There’s no reason we can’t look even higher than this season.

"I’d love to be in the play-offs. We’ve seen smaller clubs do it in terms of Braintree and this club’s going in the right direction.

"Staying in the league is important again but with what we’ve got at Maidstone, the players we’ve got signed on already and the run we went on towards the end of last season, there’s no reason why we can’t push higher up the table.

"It’s healthy to dream and to look above where people look down on you."

Lokko, who joined Maidstone from Welling last summer, played 46 games in all competitions for Jay Saunders’ men this season.

Stones were staring down the barrel of relegation in February but won eight of their last 14 games to finish 14th.

Lokko said: "It was a massive achievement. There was a time in the season when people would have looked at us and thought ‘they’re odds-on favourites to go down’ but the strength of character in the dressing room, the players we brought in and the team cohesion we had helped us.

"Looking back to February and where we finished, it’s amazing. This club deserves all the credit it gets.

"Even though we were down in the dumps at one point and losing games, the dressing room never changed. The banter was still there, everyone was close together and we still had that belief.

"The manager played a massive part because he’s one of us. He always joins in with the group activities and we’re a tight-knit bunch.

"That’s helped us a lot in terms of getting out of troubled situations."

Lokko could make his international debut on Sunday when England C face the Panjab FA at Solihull Moors FC.

The squad, which also includes former Stones winger Bobby-Joe Taylor, then flies to the Channel Islands for a game against Jersey on Tuesday.