Rob Tuvey is enjoying football more than ever since linking up with Craig Fagan at Maidstone.

Tuvey left National League South rivals Dorking over the summer to join United as assistant manager to new boss Fagan.

It was a big move for the coach, who’s previously worked at AFC Wimbledon, but it couldn’t have worked out any better.

“It was something that I had to think long and hard about,” said Tuvey.

“But I've known Craig for a long time and I've never enjoyed it more.

“I’ve never enjoyed coming to work more than what I have at the moment.

“It's the mark of the man in terms of coming into work and working with honest people every day. It's something I've really, really enjoyed. And it's the best move I've ever made.”

Fagan, who’d been assistant manager under former Stones boss George Elokobi, knew the importance of a strong No.2.

He was willing to wait for the right man and identified Tuvey, a highly respected coach who helped Dorking to the National League South play-off semi-finals under Marc White last season.

“I thought about it all summer. Was it the right move for me?” said Tuvey.

“Obviously, Dorking are always at the top end of the table and you’re thinking, am I taking a risk? But I don't see it as a risk at all.

“When I see what Craig wants to do, the way Craig coaches when I've played against him, our thoughts align quite well.

“I feel that I can bounce ideas off of him and I feel like it's our team out there.

“I can see the imprint of what I believe my football team and Craig's football team should look like.

“And I think when you go into work every day believing in what the imprint of a team should look like, it doesn’t get better than that, so I’m loving it.”

Tuvey found himself in charge last weekend after Fagan was sent off in unusual circumstances at Hemel Hempstead.

Fagan was red-carded for leaving his technical area after Maidstone fell behind to an early free-kick and had to stay in the dressing room for the rest of the match.

But such is the understanding between the pair, Tuvey knew exactly what to do and United, who host Maidenhead in the FA Trophy second round this Saturday (3pm), recovered to win 2-1 thanks to Riley Court and Ryan Hanson.

“Me and Craig do it as a team, so it’s very much the same message,” said Tuvey.

“I know what the game plan is. We build the game plan together as a partnership. And then if one of us is not there, we just get on with it.

“We were able to have a quick chat at half-time about what changes we might do, and you get a feel for it, but we’d planned that all week.

“We know our subs, so if this happens, this is what we do. We plan for every scenario.

“We're quite meticulous in our planning, so I felt quite confident with it.

“I think sometimes players look too much at the dugout anyway.

“They’re out there and they have to get a feel for it. Where's the overload? Where's the space? And they did that really well.”

The days of non-league managers being able to jump the barrier and watch from the stand after a red card are gone.

But with Fagan back in the dressing room, he knew he could trust Tuvey and goalkeeper coach Zach Foster-Crouch as Maidstone moved up to second place in National League South.

“Craig couldn’t watch, so it’s not nice,” said Tuvey.

“I've never experienced it myself but I can imagine it's not nice at all. And it's something that he's just got to trust what the players are doing and what me and Zach are doing.”

Maidstone have reduced ticket prices for their FA Trophy tie against Maidenhead to £10 adults, £5 concessions and £2 11-17s, while juniors go free with a paying adult.