New Whitstable manager Simon Halsey is delighted with the timing of his appointment and has set his sights on stabilising the Belmont ship after a turbulent start to the season.

Former Herne Bay, Lordswood and Ramsgate boss Halsey came in as No2 to Will Graham this summer - his second stint as No2 at the Oystermen - but Graham’s reign lasted just six games - all defeats - before the rookie manager was relieved of his duties.

Halsey was handed the interim role ahead of the 3-0 FA Cup win against Walton Casuals and was in charge for the 2-2 derby draw with Bay and Saturday’s rollercoaster 5-3 defeat at Worthing in Ryman League Division 1 South before being handed the manager’s role permanently at a board meeting on Monday night.

Halsey said: “I was away when Will left but (chairman) Gary Johnson called me and asked me to help them out for a couple of games.

“We had a sit down the Wednesday after that and we talked about what direction things were going and I said I was happy to take it on. They agreed it at the board meeting on Monday and I’m looking forward to getting going.”

He added: “It’s a good job to get and it’s a good time to get it, with Cup games to look forward to.

"There are a lot of very good players at the club and in the under-21s. If we can add one or two and a bit of depth then that’s great.

"I have talked to some players already, though there’s not enough time before (Tuesday night’s visit of Sittingbourne to the Belmont, 7.45pm).

“It’s all about stabilising. It’s early in the season. Obviously there are some things we need to fix pretty quickly but really we want to stabilise, get into that mid-table area and then work from there.

"Let’s see where we are at Christmas and go from there.”

Town host Deal Town in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round on Saturday (3pm).