Lloyd Hume is looking forward to welcoming some key players back at Ashford.
Forward Louis Collins and former Football League midfielder Michael West, on loan from Whitstable, are expected to return to action after injury in time for Saturday’s home Isthmian South East derby with Deal.
Neither have featured since mid-January.
Co-owner Hume, in charge until the end of the season following Danny Kedwell’s exit last month, said: “Louis is 23 but he’s been playing at this level of football since he was 16.
“When you look at it, most players are 28 or 29 before they have his kind of experience. Louis brings a dynamic to the squad that no one else does.
“But let’s not forget Mike West has been outstanding since he came in.
“Along with Jack Dixon, who we’ve just signed, I’m looking forward to seeing them all play together.
“Hopefully in the next two weeks or so, we will have a clean bill of health.
“But we’re still looking to add to the squad, as well.”
Versatile ex-Dover defender Will Moses is also nearing a return, having not played since Boxing Day.
“Will Moses is very close,” Hume confirmed. “I’m not sure we will get him back involved this week.
“He says he’s fit and, although I don’t want to take risks with a young lad, hopefully he’ll be back soon.
“Will might be ready for Saturday. I just don’t want to rush him back.”
The Nuts & Bolts’ second game under Hume ended in a 3-1 loss at Herne Bay, despite top scorer Gary Lockyer’s second-half strike, last weekend.
Hume reflected: “It was a frustrating afternoon.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record but I don’t really believe the result was a real reflection of the game. We definitely deserved something.
“Herne Bay were competitive and we knew what we were going to get from them. Other than conceding from a set-piece, which has been a bit of a theme this season, we were quite comfortable in the game.
“We had a good chance before half-time to get an equaliser. Then, we conceded the second, but we got back into the game.
“We created some chances and there weren’t speculative chances, either, they were ones where we probably should have scored.
“It was very frustrating but there were definite green shoots.”
Ashford weren’t helped by substitutions they were forced to make. Midfielder Harrison Hume – Lloyd’s son – had to be replaced by Lucas Payne, making his first club appearance, midway through the first period.
Payne came through 30-odd minutes but had to come off himself just before the hour.
Hume said: “I don’t want to bang on about my son, but Harrison started really well on Saturday. He then got injured and I was bringing on players who haven’t played in this league before.
“Lucas gave everything he could, but we kind of knew that we might need to make another change.”
For Lockyer, his goal against Herne Bay was his 24th of the season, with Hume revealing he had turned down interest from a higher-division club in order to stay at the club.
Hume noted: “Gary, for me, was very good on Saturday.
“I’ve asked Gary to step up, not just as a player, but as a leader. He does that naturally.
“He’s had seven days in for him from a club in the level above, and he said he still wants to be part of it at Ashford. That’s what I want.
“It’s not always going to be rosy, we know, but we want to build for the future and Gary is a massive part of that.”
Weekend visitors Deal have made a decent fist of their first season at Step 4, sitting three points ahead of Ashford.
“Deal have done a really good job,” admitted Hume, whose team have already seen off the Hoops twice – 1-0 in the FA Trophy and 3-1 in the league – this term.
“They have competed well in this league and they’ve kept 90 per cent of their players together.
“Both games we have had against them this season have been very good games. They will not love the fact we won the first two encounters and they’ll want to rectify that.
“But I do believe, if we get players playing how we want them to, we’ll become a really good side.
“People might criticise me because I’ve been in charge for two games and we have lost two games – but we can compete with anyone in the league.”
Former Ashford United boss Kedwell has joined Isthmian Premier Folkestone’s coaching staff.
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