Maidstone captain Gavin Hoyte has paid tribute to former manager Hakan Hayrettin for “making us winners”.

Injured skipper Hoyte was sorry to see Hayrettin sacked yesterday and says the players have let him down.

They won National South last season but have struggled back in the top flight of non-league football.

A run of two wins in 21 games led to Hayrettin’s dismissal, with Maidstone second-bottom in the National League after losing 4-1 at York on Saturday.

He retained the vast majority of last season’s squad but it’s been a difficult campaign at the higher level.

“I’m sad to see him go,” said Hoyte, who was given the armband in George Elokobi’s absence last season.

“What Hak’s done for us is massive. I’ve been with him for three-and-a-half years.

“He’s a winner and he’s made us winners. I’m very disappointed that he’s gone. We’ve let him down.

“He put his trust in us this season and we’ve let him down.

• Hayrettin sacked by Stones

• Hak on Stones axe

“Ultimately, all he wanted to do was win and he made me a winner.

"He works tirelessly and when we were losing I had lots of calls with him, trying to work things out and see what was wrong.

"It was how do we build the boys up? How are we going to get through this? How are we going to do this and that? How are the boys feeling?

“He’s a very hard worker and he put that into all of us.

“It was hard for us because we’re not used to losing.

"Sometimes, one win can change everything, or sometimes it’s even just a goal or a little bit of luck that goes your way.

“We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going.

“There’s a lot of games left to get out of trouble.”

Hoyte, who’s recovering from a dislocated shoulder and ruptured pectoral muscle, lifted the National South title alongside Elokobi last season.

Elokobi has been named caretaker manager, with United three points from safety, and Hoyte believes his former team-mate has the qualities to make things work.

“We’ve got to move on,” he said. “And we’ve got to stick together. George is a very positive guy, he’s got big energy and he’s another one who wants to win.

“Sometimes, and I know it’s hard to say, a change can help turn things around. The potential is there to stay up if we can cut out the silly errors.

"I know everyone’s got it in them and I know how much everyone wants to stay up.

“I know a lot of people don’t believe in us but they didn’t believe in us to win the league last season and we proved them wrong. I know we can prove them wrong again.

“That’s what’s driving everyone on. Let’s do it for ourselves and for Hak.

"Let’s show him why he believed in us, why he kept faith in us and why he didn’t change the whole squad last summer, like some people thought he should do.”

Hoyte suffered his double injury during Maidstone’s Kent Senior Cup defeat at Corinthian in November.

He’s hoping to return before the end of the season and help his team to safety.

“Hopefully, if everything goes well and the consultant is happy, I’ll be back for the last month," he said.

“Whoever’s in charge, you want to have as many players fit as you can. Hak didn’t have that.

"We’ve had a lot of injuries and he wasn’t able to pick his team, which didn’t help. You want competition for places.”