Debutant Ahmed Abdulla scored a first-half hat-trick as Sittingbourne made a flying start to the season.

But it came as a surprise to manager Darren Blackburn, who said: “We didn’t sign him for his goals.”

Abdulla’s treble put Sittingbourne in charge against Isthmian South East new boys Lancing and fellow summer signing Michael Akin completed a 4-0 victory.

Blackburn, whose side host Littlehampton in the FA Cup preliminary round this Saturday (3pm), knew all about Abdulla’s qualities but the goals were a bonus.

He said: “To be honest, Abs isn’t a player we tried to sign for his goals.

“We knew he was capable - he was pinging them in from everywhere at training on Thursday - but we got him in for his link-up play through midfield and that creative spark.

“They were three good finishes, all from a similar position.

“Almost Lampard-esque, the way he found his way into the area around the penalty spot and picked up the pieces.

“He didn’t panic, they were calm, technical finishes.”

Sittingbourne were going into the unknown against Lancing, who have been promoted from the Combined Counties League.

But they worked hard and got their rewards against a side who were better than the scoreline suggests.

Blackburn said: “A lot of people will look at that result and say, ‘Sittingbourne beat them 4-0, so other teams will do even better’ but I’m telling you now, they will cause problems.

“They can definitely play - it’ll be interesting to see how they do. It took us 10-15 minutes to get into our stride but, that said, Kane Rowland had a one-on-one in the first 10 minutes and Johan Caney-Bryan was in three times with the keeper to beat, so we could have had more goals.

“The main thing is the fans were over the moon with it. I won’t get too excited, we need to be doing it for eight, nine, 10 games, and putting in those performances against Hastings and Ashford and Herne Bay.

“I didn’t really give too many instructions for when we had the ball, it was when we didn’t have the ball and keeping the players grafting.

“Yes, you do your technical stuff, shape and giving roles and responsibilities at set pieces but attitude and work rate are things you really demand.

“If you’ve got quality it will always be there but you have to work hard to create those moments where you can take advantage of your quality.”

Sittingbourne made another new signing before the game - right-back Neville Rivelino Nza, who’s moved back to the UK from Switzerland, and they’re also awaiting international clearance for three more recruits.

Competition for places is fierce and while Blackburn is determined to hold on to his best players, he knows it will be hard to keep those on the fringes happy.

He said: “We’ve never had it this good where we have players who might not even be in the 16.

“It won’t always be like that. It doesn’t take long for managers to scout the benches and see who’s not getting on and then the seven-dayers start coming in.

“None of us are silly, there’s experienced managers out there who know how it works far better than I do and are far wiser in the ways of management.

“But we don’t want to be easy pickings for clubs any more.

“It’s happened too many times in the past where we’ve lost players who’ve made other teams better.

“I think we’re in a position where we can compete now to keep hold of these players.”

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