Sittingbourne have offered sponsors a money-back guarantee in the event of missing out on the Isthmian South East play-offs.

The Brickies are so set on a promotion challenge, there will be partial refunds should a top-five finish elude them.

Vice-chairman Andrew Marjeram came up with the idea in a bid to attract sponsorship for the 2023/24 campaign.

Companies taking out the club’s £1,000 gold package will be given half their money back, while those signing up to a £500 sponsorship board deal would receive £150.

Boss Ryan Maxwell has made no secret of his desire to take Sittingbourne into the Isthmian Premier and is fully behind Marjeram’s proposals.

“Fair play to Marj,” said Maxwell.

“He’s come up with that himself and I like it.

“We’re giving something back if we weren’t to make the play-offs.

“I think it’s a nice incentive for fans and it’s a good bit of marketing as well.

“Not many people offer to give money back, let’s be honest.

“He’s trying to get people to support the club in more ways than one.

“Not just financially, but to get behind the club and come to the games and be part of it.

“Yes, by all means sponsor the club, but if we don’t make the play-offs, let’s give you something back and I like that whole two-way street.

“It doesn’t add any pressure. There’s no pressure. Everyone would be lying if they said they didn’t want to succeed in football.

“Making the play-offs would be the aim and I’d be lying to say it wasn’t ours, but at least I’m being honest about it.

“A lot of managers won’t tell you the truth but the truth is we’re all looking for a play-off spot and I don’t care who you are, everyone’s after the same thing, the same prize, which is a promotion.

“I do like the way Marj has gone about it. It speaks volumes about the man.”

Sittingbourne drew 2-2 at Chatham in their opening pre-season friendly last night.

They’ve hit the ground running after a productive summer which has seen Maxwell complete his business early.

“We’ve had two weeks’ training and I’ve been quite pleased with it,” he said.

“The boys have come back in decent shape, so we got the balls out a little bit earlier than maybe was expected and had a couple of little practice matches between ourselves.

“Recruitment has gone well. I’m 99% sure we’re done now.

“At the very most there’ll be one more but I’m not going to force that. It doesn’t need to be forced.

“We’re a lot more prepared than most but there’s always one or two players that pop their heads up and you think, ‘I wouldn’t mind signing him’.

“We’ll see what we can do but I’m very happy with what we have.

“I don’t like to spend the budget if I don’t have to. We’re going to be sensible.

“We’re not going to break any financial agreements that we’ve got between the chairman and I.

“We’ve done our business within the budget, with the tiniest bit left over.

“There’s a little bit there if needed but certainly not a pot of gold or a money tree. I respect that. We won’t be spending money we don’t have.

“We’ve kept six or seven from last year and it’s about integrating the new ones and building relationships and understanding of each other.

“I think we’re starting to get that. In training, we’re talking about our style, how we’re going to play and the tactical side.”

Tomorrow night’s friendly against Brightlingsea Regent has been cancelled, with the Brickies next in action at home to Ebbsfleet on Tuesday (7.45pm).