Faversham’s new signings came at the right time to help end their five-match losing streak.

Stefan Wright marked his return to Salters Lane after a spell at Cray Wanderers with the opening goal in a 2-0 victory over Burgess Hill last weekend.

And young right-back Alex Giles impressed after joining on loan from Gillingham late on Friday as the Lilywhites moved six points clear of the Isthmian South East bottom two.

Manager James Collins knew the importance of getting a result against Hill - and it made a big impact.

“I felt it was a big game after losing to Hythe last week and it was a big result for us,” said Collins.

“We’ve been managing injuries for most of the season but with the two players coming in, it was the first time since October that I’ve had to leave people out.

“No disrespect to the young lads, who have done really well, but it was good to have a full bench of senior players for a change and everyone playing in their proper position.

“So many times we’ve had people playing out of position and we’ve struggled to find any consistency and I just felt I had to get a couple of bodies in.

“I had Stef here before when I first came to Faversham, he’s a good character and he suits the way we play at the moment.

“Alex Giles came up at the last minute on Friday from Gillingham and he had a great game at right-back.

“We’ve got him for a month to start with, which is par for the course with the young lads, and we’ll assess after that.”

On Saturday Faversham welcome VCD, managed by Collins’ childhood friend and former assistant Nick Davis, before hosting Herne Bay on Tuesday.

Both sides are in the promotion picture but Faversham need to make the most of their much-criticised pitch.

“The pitch hasn’t been good all season,” said Collins. “That’s the way it is. It’s not easy for teams to come here and we have to try and use it to our advantage.

“We play on it every week so in theory we should play it better than our opponents and we have to find a way of winning games regularly.

“When teams who like to play football come here and have to play more direct, you’re not playing the best version of them, and that’s where we need to try and take advantage.”

Meanwhile, Collins praised defender Matt Bourne, who scored the clinching second goal against Burgess Hill on his 440th appearance.

“It’s an incredible number of games,” said Collins. “He’s a leader on and off the pitch and I’m delighted for him.”

Town have been kicked out of this season's Velocity Trophy.

A club statement on Thursday said a loan player who featured in their shoot-out win over Corinthian following a goalless draw on Tuesday, January 25 had not been correctly registered within the time-frame required under cup rules.

The club appealed against the decision but have since been informed their appeal was not successful.

They had been due to visit Isthmian Premier Carshalton in a last-16 tie.