George Elokobi will have his mind firmly on Maidstone's derby at Tonbridge when he wakes up on Christmas morning.

That's how it has to be, according to captain Elokobi, who is determined to give Stones fans something to shout about in the 1pm kick-off at Longmead on Boxing Day.

He said: "With Christmas, once you sign as a professional footballer, you are committed to the cause.

"I try to make sure my family enjoy the day but my mind is always on the game.

"Most of the time I'm training early in the morning and I try to go back home for the kids, get the presents open and have a good day with the family, but you have to stay disciplined and think about the game.

"You are there with the family but really you are not, your mindset has to be focused on your job the following day.

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"You can have your Christmas on Boxing Day, after you've gone out and tried to do the best for your football club.

"But once you sign as a professional footballer, you need to accept that for 15 to 20 years you haven't got a Christmas.

"That's just how it is and that's how it's been for me for the last 15 years of my career.

"My family's used to it now. As footballers, it's our job to make sure we stay professional on Christmas Day and not get sidetracked."

Elokobi knows all about the passion of derbies as a veteran of fiery Black Country meetings between Wolves and West Brom.

The rivalry between those clubs prepares you for anything, so he'll be ready for Longmead as Maidstone and Tonbridge meet in a league game for the first time in almost five years.

Elokobi said: "The Wolves v West Brom games were very lively, very intense.

"Like any derby, you want to win for yourselves and you want to win for the fans and this Tonbridge game is going to be no different.

"I play every game like it's a derby so I'm sure the boys will relish the chance to be out there because the atmosphere is going to be electric and we've got to give our fans something to shout about because we let them down against Dorking on Saturday.

"Ice-cool in the head and fire in the belly - that's how you approach derbies.

"We have to keep our discipline but also we have to impose ourselves the right way to try and get three points.

"It's a local derby, all the boys are aware of that and we're going to try and do our best to send the fans home happy.

"We need to look at ourselves, individually and collectively, and rectify what went wrong against Dorking."

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