Football is firmly in perspective at Sittingbourne this week after kitman Kieran Payne was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Payne, a hugely popular figure around the club, announced the news on social media on Sunday.

Sittingbourne have rallied round Payne, who is also a matchday steward at Woodstock, as he focuses on getting better.

“I’ve been speaking to him and checking on him and I know a number of players have as well,” said Brickies boss Ryan Maxwell, who is set to visit Payne in hospital.

“He’s been fantastic since I’ve been here.

“He’s such a lovely young man.

“The world needs more people like Kieran, I can tell you that.

“He’s a very nice, humble young fella and to hear what’s going on is absolutely devastating.

“We are fully behind him 100% - everybody at the club wishes him well. He’s a big part of what we do here.

“He’s not just the kitman, but a steward, a friend, a fan.

“He’s an example of just how important people are to football clubs like us and how much they mean to us.

“He sounds in good spirits. It says a lot about his character that he’s more concerned about missing any Sittingbourne games because it’s such a huge part of his life.

“It was quite humbling listening to him talk and how concerned he was about potentially missing games but that’s not important right now.

“It’s important he focuses on the task at hand, which is getting better, and we’ll be supporting him all the way.”

Injuries are slowly easing as Sittingbourne return to action following a weekend off.

They visit Isthmian South East new boys Horndean on Saturday (3pm) and that’s followed by the Swale derby at home to Sheppey on Bank Holiday Monday (1pm).

The derby is an all-ticket fixture and is expected to attract a big crowd.

“I welcome the rivalry,” said Maxwell, whose immediate priority is the Horndean fixture.

“It’s fantastic to have a good rivalry between two clubs.

“They’ve had a good ride in recent years, the club’s well set up and fair play to the people behind it.

“I’ve seen a bit of them and I know a bit about them - it’s going to be a very good game.

“It’s at our place and we’re hoping for a very good crowd.

“I know the chairman’s excited about a good number of people coming through the turnstiles.

“Fingers crossed, we get a good crowd and a good atmosphere because it all adds up to a better game.

“Hopefully we are slightly the better side on the day but it’s all eyes on Horndean first. We’ve got to take care of business there.”

Horndean are new to the league following promotion.

Maxwell has limited knowledge of the Hampshire club but Bourne will be as ready as they can be.

“I know very little about them,” said Maxwell.

“Looking at their ground, there seems to be a considerable slope on the pitch, so we’re expecting a certain type of game that we’ll adapt and prepare for.

“It’s always a bit of a blind one when you don’t know a team who have come into the league but the same as we don’t know them, they don’t know us, so it’s a level playing field.

“It’s very demanding for clubs at our level to play two games in three days but we’re all in the same boat.

“We have to manage it and get through it.

“You try and manage your time if you can but you’ve got to win.

“It’s very much one game at a time.”

Brickies beat Sevenoaks 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the Velocity Trophy on Tuesday last week.