Midfielder Josh Oliver has signed a contract to commit his future to Whitstable.

The talented and creative youngster bagged both goals in their 2-0 home win over Holmesdale on Saturday before putting pen to paper this week.

He has impressed boss Marcel Nimani since he took charge in October after he was signed by ex-manager Richard Styles last summer from Margate’s youth set-up.

Nimani said: “We’ve just put Josh on contract.

“He’s agreed to sign a one-year contract with us. Josh is a bit of a gem.

“I’d not really come across him before so he’s a real coup from the previous management team. He’s really impressed in our time and is thriving in our set-up.

“His statistics and his performances have been consistent now.

“We started this conversation about three weeks ago, I’d say, and we gave Josh some time to talk with family and had a meeting, just to explain how we’re going to support Josh and how he supports us.

“I’m delighted that Josh has agreed to commit to us next year.”

Whitstable will still play in the Southern Counties East Premier Division in 2023/24, having been unable to earn promotion at the first attempt, and plans are already being put into place at The Belmont.

Nimani said: “We’ve let a few of the players go that we didn’t quite think were fully embracing our culture.

“We’ve kind of stuck with the players we think will be around next year. We’ve already had conversations and the planning for next year has already begun.

“We’re excited.

"In the summer, we’ll be looking to keep most of the players that we have and there’s three or four I’ve got my eyes on, and I’ll have conversations with them in the summer.”

Oliver’s double put the Oystermen 2-0 up against Holmesdale inside 10 minutes before they saw the game out in front of a crowd of 522.

“We emphasised quite heavily on a strong start,” Nimani said.

“We wanted to be quite energetic and to hit them on good counter-attacks, and we did exactly as we planned.

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“Once we got the two goals and we were comfortable, we relied on game management.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into game management, put a lot of emphasis on taking the momentum away from the opponent - another ingredient we’re adding to our mixer - in terms of managing the opposition.”

The Oystermen enjoyed a good run in March and will hope to continue that form into the last month of the season, starting with Saturday’s trip to Sutton Athletic.

“We had a really good month,” reflected Nimani.

“We had four games, won three and drew one, so we’re just building a pattern both home and away, and we’re looking to stretch that momentum further.

“Sutton are a very good footballing side.

"If you’re not organised against them, you pay the consequences.”

Whitstable beat Sutton 3-0 at home last month. Oliver scored twice, while winger Jefferson Aibangbee was also on the scoresheet.

Nimani's side visit Holmesdale on Wednesday.