Player and goalkeeping coach Dan Eason is embracing the style Whitstable boss Marcel Nimani has introduced - as he begins plotting his own managerial career.

Eason was added to Nimani’s backroom team earlier this season despite remaining in the Oystermen’s No.1 spot. Since being named manager last term, Nimani has encouraged an attractive style of play.

The experienced keeper said: “Marcel is sort of the new modern-type of manager, playing a lot of football.

“The other managers I’ve been with, they’ve been more ‘Let’s get it in their half’ so it’s been good to have those types of managers and then there’s someone like Marcel. Football is tiki-taka football now.

“You don’t get many youngsters coming through as centre-halves who really want to head the ball or elbow people, so you have to adapt a bit.”

Eason has already earned plaudits from Nimani for his coaching work and said: “I do enjoy it.

“I’ve got a couple of youngsters down here so it’s good. We train Tuesdays and Thursdays. They do quite a bit of training.

“I do the goalkeepers now, so I’ll train on Tuesday and have a bit of a rest and just do the goalkeepers on Thursday.”

But it’s a role in the managerial hot-seat which Eason one day envisages having.

He said: “That’s what I want to do - I think!

“Although with what players want, there’s just too much money in it now. But I want to get into it.

“I’ll need to get the coaching side of it sorted and push on from there.”

Whitstable bowed out of the FA Vase, falling victim of a turnaround in their 2-1 weekend home loss to Southern Combination Premier Division Lingfield in front of a 288-strong crowd.

Midfielder Jack Palmby broke the deadlock in the eighth minute from a corner and it remained 1-0 until three minutes from time, only for substitute Dennis Asante to grab a fantastic equaliser.

In stoppage time, the visitors were awarded a controversial free-kick and, after away captain Conor Wilford had crashed the set-piece against the wall, the rebound was emphatically blasted in.

Eason reflected: “You just have to take it. If you don’t put your chances away, that’s what happens.

“He [Asante] probably won’t be able to do that again but we had a good chance to go 2-0 up and I reckon that would have killed the game a little bit but, like I said, if you don’t take your chances, that’s what happens.”

It’s been a stop-start opening to the campaign for the Oystermen and Eason conceded the style of their FA Vase exit summed up how this term has began.

He said: “We play good football, the end product just needs to be a little bit better. That’s my opinion, anyway.

“With the way we keep the ball, we should be beating teams 4-0 and 5-0 most weeks. Even against Rusthall we could have been more goals up [before it was abandoned when they led 4-1].”

FA Vase disappointment appeared to hit Eason more than most, having reached the Semi-Final in 2012.

“It’s a shame,” he noted. “It’s always good to have a good run in the Vase.

“The club can get a bit of money from it. But we want to go up from the league and we can concentrate on that now.”

Whitstable will aim to add to the 10 points they have achieved from their first seven Southern Counties East Premier Division matches when they visit Tunbridge Wells this Saturday.

“It’s always tough,” Eason stated. “It’s quite a nice pitch, especially this time of year.

“Fingers crossed, we go there and do what we know we can do and, hopefully, get the three points.

“They have got quite good fans as well, don’t they? It should be a good game.”

Whitstable Academy scholar Alex Kokoshi has penned his first professional contract with League 2 Colchester.