New Faversham manager Sammy Moore has explained his surprise decision to join the Isthmian South East basement boys.

Moore left Isthmian Premier high-fliers Potters Bar for the Lilywhites and took charge of his first Town match on Saturday as they drew 1-1 with 10-man Corinthian.

The Deal-born former Football League midfielder believes it’ll be the toughest task of his managerial career to help Faversham beat the drop but he has been sold by the long-term project at Salters Lane.

“Firstly, a few eyebrows are probably raised why I have moved from top of the league to bottom of Isthmian South East,” he said.

“But I’m a Kent lad and I always had a soft spot for Faversham.

"With my backroom team, we are trying to put all our experiences together to get the club up the table.

“It will probably be the toughest task in my time in management. Looking at Saturday, there’s a lack of belief - the points they have got and games this season show that.

“We tried to put a bit of structure and organisation into us but I only knew a handful of players and the staff knew another few.

“The main thing to come out of it is there’s a lack of confidence in the group.

"Our job is to get the belief back into these players. There’s good players there.”

Against second-bottom Corinthian, they came from behind, although failed to find a winner despite having a numerical advantage for the final 20 minutes after frontman Harvey Smith was sent off for the visitors.

But Moore insisted: “I don’t see it as a disappointing result. I see it as a point gained.

“They had been beaten in their last five so there’s a lack of belief and a lack of confidence. You could see that on Saturday but they showed good character.

“Did we deserve to win it? Probably not.

"But we hit the bar and maybe just needed a bit of luck.”

Moore will be assisted by Darren Beale who has followed him to Faversham from Potters Bar while ex-Dover man Darren Hare and coach Tim Dixon have also come on board.

“I don’t think you are going to get too many better management groups - from this league right up to the National League,” said Moore.

“The main thing for me was I wanted to surround myself with good people. This is not six months, we are closer to home, so it’s a long-term project.

“What the chairman, Gary Smart, has put across to us is exciting. They are fantastic support for me, they are good people that want success. I will learn from them.

“The one thing you will get is hard work to make this football club better. We are trying to add one more to the backroom staff if we can as well.”

It’s Hare’s first role in football since he made his Dover departure two years ago.

Moore added: “He brings real quality in terms of what he has done. He’s probably one of the best coaches I have worked with.

“It’s great for me. He is putting on sessions and we can bounce ideas off each other.

"Darren Beale knows him from Dover and has been great for me. Then, Tim has great knowledge of Kent football.

“If you surround yourself with good people, not just in football but in general, it’s a matter of time before it becomes a success.”

Town have also bolstered their defensive ranks, bringing in Emmanuel Dasho from Aveley and Potters Bar’s Jacques Kpoghomou - who netted on his debut - while they have signed midfielder Jamie Splatt on an initial one-month loan from Dulwich and ex-Potters Bar captain Frazer Shaw has come in this week too.

On signing Dasho and Kpoghomou, Moore said: “They’re two players that have played in Isthmian Premier this year. Emmanuel was at Aveley when we played Aveley [with Potters Bar] in the FA Cup.

“He’s dynamic but also a good 1 v 1 defender - that’s something we identified, we need to improve in that area.

“Then Kpog’s come in. He was probably my best centre-half at my old club. I wanted him to come with us and he brought into our project and how we want to build at Faversham.

“He came in and scored. He will bring quality and will raise the standards at Faversham.

“The main thing is to bring these players in to raise the quality and the standards as a squad as a whole.”

There’s another vital match for Faversham this Saturday as they visit third-bottom Haywards Heath, who this week parted company with boss Martin Dynan.

“They are all big games,” noted Moore. “We have 21 games left.

“They are down there towards the bottom with us but we go there full of confidence and unbeaten in one. Can we go unbeaten in two and build some momentum?”

Bradley Schafer and fellow midfielder Connor Wilkins both have left Faversham for Sheppey.