Manager Marcel Nimani says it has been a heart-breaking week for Whitstable Town after the sudden death of a hugely popular club volunteer.

The Southern Counties East Premier Division side announced the death of under-14s East Kent Youth Football League boss Matt Milne - husband of director and club secretary Francesca Milne - on Monday night.

That has led to a wealth of emotional tributes flooding in for the 43-year-old father, taken ill on a flight home from a work trip before his passing.

Nimani said: “It’s heart-breaking, really.

“It’s been a heart-breaking week for the club. We’re very good at hosting teams, clubs are always complimentary about us and enjoy their stay, and Matt was the heartbeat of all that.

“He was the very first person to welcome me at the club. We became good friends. He was an incredible guy.

“His legacy - his warmth and his kind way of welcoming people - it’s up to us to carry that on now.”

Milne leaves behind son Will and daughter Annabel, as well as Francesca.

“Our whole-hearted condolences go to Fran, Will and Annabel,” added Nimani.

“They’re an incredible family.

“Fran is an incredible individual who works tirelessly for the club. She’s going through a lot at the moment and we want to honour Matt’s legacy as much as possible.

“This week, our whole focus is on the club. We need to do right by our club.”

The Oystermen suffered a 3-0 away defeat to Tunbridge Wells last weekend, but Nimani is remaining calm.

“It was very, very disappointing,” he reflected. “We have had a really disappointing seven days.

“It’s been a tough week for us as a first team and the club overall.

“On the pitch, ultimately, we select the players and make the decisions of who starts where.

“We, as a management team, are accountable for the performance on the pitch and the players held themselves accountable for that performance on the pitch.

“But it’s early on in the season. We have got our objectives and our objectives are very clear.

“We play 20 home games and 20 away games in the league - we’re aiming to win 15 at home and eight away.

“We’re working towards those targets and we don’t care where the wins come from as long as those objectives are fulfilled and we make the play-offs.”

Whitstable are yet to win back-to-back league matches this term amid a stop-start campaign.

But Nimani said: “It’s been frustrating that we have not been able to put a good run of league results together.

“Then again, if you look at our fixtures, we’ve had a tough start.

“We’ve played eight league games. Three have been at home and five have been away. Our away form hasn’t been great but we still have a lot of home games to come.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a concern – it’s too early to be concerned.”

Whitstable host Bearsted this Saturday, with the Bears five points ahead of them and on the fringes of the play-off places.

“Bearsted, historically, have been a very good side in this league,” noted Nimani, who is set to come up against former striker Dean Grant when Whitstable visit Hollands & Blair on Tuesday.

“They play great football and have signed some really good players in the summer.

“I think they’re a club on the rise. They certainly are showing that results-wise and performance-wise.

“It’ll be an extremely tough game but we just need to do our thing.

“We just need to focus on our strengths, really, and we’ll look to give them a good game.”

Town’s match against Bearsted will kick-off at the later time of 6.30pm due to the GroundHop weekend.