Hastings aiming for the summit

United are currently in third place, but with neither of the top two in action tonight, victory would put them a point clear of current leaders Walton Casuals with two games in hand.

Sittingbourne are in 19th place with 16 points from 14 games - exactly half of United’s return - and have lost six of their seven away fixtures. United still hold the division’s only unbeaten home record with six wins and a draw from their seven games at The Pilot Field so far.

As well as being United’s ninth in succession at home, tonight’s game is the first of three consecutive matches for United against teams in the bottom six, but manager John Maggs has warned against any complacency.

Maggs said: “There’s this myth about the place the league is rubbish. There are some strong sides in the league. Sittingbourne, Corinthian Casuals sides like this you should go out and get a result, but guard against it.

“My message goes out - no-one has got a divine right to win. I would look at the next few fixtures and say we should have enough about us to get a result - everyone’s agreeing on it - but we’ve got to guard against the results that these sides can pull off.

“I would ask for a little bit more positivity about the place. We’re where we are by winning games. If we’ve not been 100 per cent or polished, we’ve got that to come. We’re in a good position and we’ll take it all day long. We’ve got to be professional and totally focused.”

Ronnie Dolan could make his debut after signing from Hythe Town late last week, while fellow midfielder Tom Vickers has returned to the club assuming his previous employers Lewes have cancelled his Ryman League registration.

Sean Kelly has completed his three-match suspension, but Tim Olorunda serves the second game of an identical ban. Kick-off at The Pilot Field is 7.45pm and for those who can’t make it, you can get regular updates by following @SimonNewstead on Twitter.