Maidstone United manager George Elokobi believes striker Deon Moore is thriving in the right environment.

Moore scored his first Stones goal in the 2-0 midweek win over Hampton & Richmond at the Gallagher Stadium.

After providing assists against Hemel Hempstead and Torquay, the hardworking centre-forward deserved his moment after meeting Leo Hamblin’s cross with a lovely header.

“He was fantastic. I’m delighted for Deon Moore,” said Elokobi of his summer signing from Welling.

“When we scouted him, we knew exactly what he would bring to the team.

“I said the goals would come for him, it’s the all-round performance we liked.

“As a management team, we saw it straight away.

“We knew we could help him work on his strengths and then the goals will come because he’s a good mover, he’s clever in terms of his positional sense but also very physical and an intelligent centre-forward that knows where his team-mates are.

“In terms of connecting with the forward line, he does that superbly but also he can defend set-plays as well, which is another bonus.

“It was a brilliant, brilliant header for his goal.

“That was technical in terms of, it wasn’t power, it was precision.

“As soon as that left his head, we knew it was going in and he deserves that for how he’s gone about pre-season but also how he’s started the season.”

Some fans questioned Moore’s lack of goals when his signing was announced but he’s quickly won everyone over.

He’s getting the rewards for his hard work.

Elokobi said: “He’s a very confident young man and a top professional.

“The way he works in terms of how he trains and how he looks after his body is excellent.

“He doesn’t rush to leave the training ground early, he takes pride in looking after his body in terms of his recovery, hydration, nutrition.

“He looks after himself well but he trains hard and he produces his qualities in training.

“His team-mates trust him but the most important thing is we spoke about enjoyment and he is enjoying this environment.

“We can see that out on the pitch when he plays.

“He’s still getting fitter, he’s getting stronger and we just need to make sure we manage him properly.

“It’s important he got off the mark and he’s been involved in all the goals we’ve scored this season and plenty more in pre-season.

“I’m delighted for him, to see where he’s come from.

“It’s about being in the right environment.

“I’ve always said this, players might be in the wrong environment and they don’t flourish.

“We take pride in what we do here at Maidstone United Football Club in terms of the structure we’ve got.

“We look after players, we work with them, we do extras to make sure they are firing on all cylinders and he is an example to the other players.

“He’s a very confident young man and long may that continue.”

Unbeaten Maidstone visit newly-promoted AFC Totton on Saturday and host big-spending Chelmsford at the Gallagher Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday (both 3pm).

Two games in three days will test the squad but the immediate priority is preparing for Totton.

Their 100 per cent start to the season ended at Torquay on Tuesday night but they’re a good side and fancied to fare well.

“We have to respect every opposition in terms of our preparation,” said Elokobi.

“We don’t need to be scared.

“We need to stick to our principles, we need to play our way, the Maidstone way, and not get sucked into playing any other team’s game.

“I believe it’s going to be another good encounter and another blockbuster in terms of making sure we go out and we battle.”