Brendon Cass hailed the influence of manager Ray Turner as the key factor behind his decision to sign for Faversham this week.

The striker, who left Kent rivals Hythe Town last month, revealed he turned down a move to Salters Lane last summer.

But the 29-year-old, who suffered play-off disappointment at Faversham’s hands in April, was quick to accept Turner’s latest offer and turn down a rival bid from Ramsgate.

He said: “There were one or two Kent teams interested but Faversham stood out because of the season they had last year. They beat us in the play-offs and they’ve got players I know quite well.

“But the main reason I joined is the two people in charge, Ray and Clive (Walker, assistant manager).”

When Maidstone United released club captain Shaun Welford last month, it paved the way for Cass’ move to Faversham.

Turner said: “It certainly helped our case in terms of Hythe deciding to go with Shaun as their big signing. To bring him in, they felt they needed to release Brendon.

"I’ve known about Brendon and what he can do for a while. We’ve spoken a couple of times and he was keen to meet me. He had other offers but he was keen to come to Faversham and that made the conversation easy."