Sittingbourne’s latest signing gives manager Ryan Maxwell plenty of options.

Harry Hope has rejoined the Brickies after a brief spell with the club towards the end of last season.

Work commitments prevented him from staying on at the time and he started this season with Tilbury in the Essex Senior League before joining Isthmian Premier Concord.

However, he’s back with Sittingbourne and offers versatility in midfield and forward areas.

He featured on Saturday as Bourne beat Holmesdale 1-0 in a friendly at Woodstock.

“He’s an absolutely excellent player,” said Maxwell, who also managed Hope at Braintree.

“To be honest, I was disappointed he couldn’t re-sign at the end of last season due to starting a new job.

“He’s managed to handle that, in terms of the time he needs to put into it.

“He went to Concord recently and he rang me and said if he can travel to Concord, he can travel to us, so he’d like to come back. I’m over the moon to get him.

“He’s a player with real ability and he showed that straight away on Saturday - the players were very complimentary of his performance.

“He can play in five different positions, so he’s another one with great versatility and he has a great attitude as well.

“I know him from Braintree and he knows me and how I do things.

“If we play a front three he can do any of those roles but he can also play as a deep-lying midfield player, certainly as a No.10 or off the frontman because he’s strong and pretty quick but he also doesn’t mind getting stuck in.

“He can be a number of things but he’s also got a goal in him.

“Personally I’d like to see him further forward but on Saturday we played him as a No.8 and he got on the ball and made things happen but still got his shots off.”

D’Sean Theobalds scored the only goal against Holmesdale.

The friendly was a useful exercise as Sittingbourne were without a league game.

It also marked the return from injury of key man Alex Bentley as a second-half substitute.

Bentley, a summer signing from Cray Valley, has recovered from a pre-season foot injury and featured in the build-up to Theobalds’ goal.

The former Dagenham and Hornchurch utility player will soon be pushing for Isthmian South East action.

“It’s massive for us to have Alex Bentley back,” said Maxwell, whose fourth-placed side visit East Grinstead this Saturday (3pm).

“He played about 30 minutes against Holmesdale and it was no real surprise he was involved in the goal.

“All the players got a nice little lift from having him back.

“He won’t be match-fit but he’s not put a pound of weight on and he looked at a reasonable level of fitness when he came on, so we’ll see him in the league sooner rather than later, there’s no doubt about it.

“He’ll be working hard in the background plus he’ll be training with us, so his fitness levels will be up to scratch quicker than some other players in his position.

“It was a funny injury - it was a ligament under his foot.

“We watched it back and couldn’t see how he’d done it.

“It looked like nothing but the body is a strange thing.

“He’s over it now, with no reaction on Saturday, which is great news.”

Weekend opponents East Grinstead lost their first three games but have taken 10 points from six matches since, including a 6-0 thrashing of Ashford.

“I know they’ve improved - they’ve definitely got better,” said Maxwell.

“They’re a decent team and we won’t be taking anything for granted.

“We’ll prepare as we always do and give them them the full respect they deserve.

“We’ve not had a league game for a couple of weeks.

“We’re looking forward to a competitive fixture and no one more than me.”