Don’t expect miracles – that’s the message from rookie Whitstable boss Will Graham with a week to go until the new season.

Graham is happy with the squad he’s put together since taking over from Jim and Danny Ward in May but he’s realistic about the Oystermen’s prospects in Ryman League Division 1 South.

After losing key players to the Wards’ new club Ramsgate, the 30-year-old knows survival will be his first target.

Graham said: "We’ve lost the heart of our side from last year, some strong players and people need to understand it’s not going to take two minutes to rebuild.

"We’re going to need time and the chairman understands this is a little bit of a project, building for the future.

"I’ve got to put a new team together to make us competitive in the Ryman League. It’s not going to happen overnight.

"I’ve never done a job wanting to hang around at the bottom of the league. I want to be competitive but it might take two or three years to hit the heights of last season.

"We’ve got a competitive starting XI so there are no excuses why we should be down the bottom but I’m not going to set the bar too high.

"Don’t expect miracles from this side – it’s going to be a long-term thing to get up towards the play-offs."

Read the full story in the Whitstable Gazette.