Club director Mark Turner insists team morale has not been affected by the match-fixing allegations surrounding two players.

Conference south Hawks yesterday dismissed the two players – Michael Boateng and Hakeem Adelakum – arrested by officers from the newly-established National Crime Agency (NCA) on suspicion of conspiring to defraud.

The pair, both 22, will appear at court on December 11 and they are the third and fourth people to be charged as part of an ongoing investigation.

Whitehawk, who were promoted last season, are currently 18th in the table ahead of today’s tough trip to high flying Ebbsfleet United.

Boss Darren Freeman told The Argus this week he is confident Hawks will soon be climbing up the table and Turner insists the spirit in the camp has not been knocked by the developments off the field.

Turner said: “I can tell you the morale in the team is absolutely fine. The guys are up for it. They are up for the match tomorrow as they were last week.

“We were aware of this situation last week and the players went out and won 5-1.

“The players are up for it. The morale is fine. I’ve spoken to the coaching and training staff and everything is fine. It’s business as usual.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re two players down but we have to get on with it.”

Turner also confirmed that Freeman and assistant Craig Brewster are keen to bolster the squad as they are without a league win in ten matches.

He added: “The coaching staff have been out looking for new players because we want to improve the team. That was the case last year when we won the league.

“Everything is business as usual as far as we are concerned.

“We’ve got a league game tomorrow and those three points are the most important thing to us.

“After that we’ve got the second round of the FA Trophy which is something of a milestone for the club. So we are just looking forward to getting back on the football pitch.”