Blues keep their place in Division 2

The County League revealed their constitution for the upcoming season on Thursday and Rustington remain in Division 2, despite finishing in the relegation places last season.

Maltman said: “It’s been hard over the summer as we didn’t know what division we were going to be in but I’m over the moon to stay in Division 2.

“It makes it a lot easier to try to attract players and there is a big difference between Division 2 and Division 3.

“With Sidley going out of the league, that might have been what kept us up. And we’ll have the ground grading issue every year but, from what I’ve heard, there are other clubs in the division as well whose grounds aren’t up to scratch.

“Frank Sumner and John Virgoe have been working hard to get our ground grading up to scratch and it’s been very enjoyable since I took over as it’s a well-run club.”

Maltman has brought in keeper Jack Bonetti, who has previously played for Blues, Chad Milner and Arron Farrier from Worthing United and Tom Lyne from Ferring, while the bulk of last season’s squad have also re-signed.