Faversham joint-manager Phil Miles admits he sympathises with Herne Bay’s situation ahead of this weekend’s derby between the sides.

Bay’s future has been plunged into doubt following the resignation of co-managers John Embery and Jermaine Darlington ahead of Saturday’s 2-0 Bostik South East win over Whyteleafe.

A statement on the club’s website suggested “social media trolls had finally won the day” as the duo stepped away from their roles.

Miles said: “For us we need to take it as any other game and whatever is going on down there is their business and they will try and deal with that as best they can.

“I don’t think people get how difficult it is to run a team, there are a lot of things behind the scenes that supporters don’t see, unfortunately for Herne Bay it seems like everyone has got an opinion.

“It’s sad to read, hopefully they get it sorted, we want teams like Herne Bay to stay in the league.

“Supporters pay their money and I’m pretty sure there are questions among fans here at Faversham but there’s always a reason why.

“You need a good relationship between you and your players and you and your management, players and committee, you need a good hard core of people.

“Questions have been asked on certain things, we’re all in the same position, we’re all trying to compete for the same players in Kent.

“If you don’t manage a club properly these problems do arise.

“The league is what it is, a lot of people at the bottom panic.

Bay were subject to criticism from a selection of supporters on social media in response to Jake Embery’s move to Maidstone as well as captain Ben Gorham’s involvement for Canterbury City in the FA Vase.

Miles added: “In any league from us to the Premier League, generally the club with the most money will win the league because they can get the best players.

“Without getting into detail, we’ve contacted 15 to 20 players to try and attract them to Faversham and for whatever reason, financial or our league position, they haven’t come.

“We don’t know any team’s financial structure other than our own, but obviously it’s not competitive enough. We would obviously like a bit more to spend like every club where we are.”

Faversham enter the game on the back of a week off as they look for a win that would put them back level with Herne Bay on 34 points.

“It goes one way or the other, they either stick together or you don’t know what will happen, will players decide to leave.”

Town will be without the suspended Michael Freiter as well as striker Dave Cook due to work commitments.

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