Sittingbourne secretary John Pitts says it's essential they stay in Bostik South East.

New manager Chris Lynch has been tasked with keeping Bourne in the division after succeeding Aslan Odev.

They're just a point off the foot of the table but the committee are confident they have the right man.

Pitts said: "Mo (chairman Maurice Dunk) and I met him at the Victoria Hotel in Canterbury and we had a two-hour chat.

"He did a presentation, he'd done an awful lot of homework on the players and the club and we were really impressed with his vision.

"It sounds cliched but he wants what we want for the club.

"This season we need to consolidate and stay in this division and hopefully next year go for the play-offs.

"He came over really well and he has the man-management capabilities we were looking for more than ever.

"It's absolutely essential to make sure we don't go down.

"There's only one relegation spot but we're alarmingly close to it. We've got to make sure it isn't us."

Lynch is the head of youth development at Dover Athletic but the Sittingbourne job is his first senior management role.

That wasn't an issue for Bourne, who picked him over more experienced options.

Pitts said: "I'll be honest, it's almost impossible when you're trying to appoint a new manager.

"There's plenty of experience out there but then you think to yourself why aren't they managing somewhere else or why have they been let go?

"That's one of the reasons we don't see it as a bar if someone's had little management experience or even none at all.

"Chris has had limited experience - not at our level - but we felt he was the ideal person."