Marcel Nimani hopes the new additions he intends to recruit for Whitstable can help them develop a winning mentality.

The Oystermen’s manager felt they drew too many Southern Counties East Premier Division games in the 2022/23 season - all six league stalemates coming after Nimani had taken charge alongside coach Craig Coles.

Nimani explained it’s key any potential new signings are good enough technically to fit in with the style of football they’ll play and also have the experience required to help turn some of those draws into wins after a tough couple of years which has seen Whitstable drop down from Step 4.

“They have got to be technical because they have got to fit our identity of play,” said Nimani.

“The hardest challenge that we had last year was turning around a psychological downfall, where it became normal to lose games, with the club having lost so many.

“We slowly changed that and turned into an unbeaten changing room - but that came at a cost because we drew six games.

“That was our downfall last year.

“Our next step is to change from an unbeaten to a winning mentality.

“To do that, we need to bring in about two or three players with experience and leadership characteristics.

“That’s what we are looking to bring in to turn an unbeaten mentality into a winning mentality.”

Nimani wasn’t afraid of giving youngsters senior chances either, though, and says it was key the first-team’s DNA matched with that of their youth sides.

“When we came in at Whitstable, it wasn’t just a case of improving the results,” Nimani explained.

“We came in with a plan and a project to change the identity.

“We have interacted with the youth and have invested time in building a DNA of the first team which correlates with that of the youth teams.

“All these little projects that we have got going leads to a whole club revolution. That’s what we want to build.”

Whitstable have confirmed their first batch of pre-season friendlies.

Staplehurst (June 24), Basildon (July 1), Ashford (July 4), Erith & Belvedere (July 11), East Grinstead (July 15) and Beckenham (July 22) are due to visit The Belmont while the Oystermen will travel to Sittingbourne on July 8.

“I’m sure the fans will be excited to see us back,” Nimani noted.

“We have an exciting pre-season ahead with some really good sides coming to our ground.

“We’re looking forward to having the fans back in and playing in front of them.”

Whitstable will be involved in a division that will compete with 21 clubs next season, up from 20.

Corinthian, VCD and Faversham will be joining them following Isthmian South East relegation while Lydd Town and Snodland Town make the step up from Division 1.

Proposed Southern Counties East Premier Division 2023/24: Bearsted, Corinthian, Deal Town, Erith Town, Faversham Town, Fisher, Glebe, Hollands & Blair, Holmesdale, Kennington, Lordswood, Lydd Town, Punjab United, Rusthall, Snodland Town, Stansfeld, Sutton Athletic, Tunbridge Wells, VCD Athletic, Welling Town, Whitstable Town.