Steven King believes one more centre-back will make his Whitehawk squad complete.

Belgian defender Bryan van den Bogaert has impressed in the middle since joining from Crawley Town at the end of August.

He has formed an accomplished centre-back pairing in the last three games with Argentinean Juan Cruz Gotta, who now seems to be settling in well to English football.

But van den Bogaert is really a left-back while the man currently playing in that position – in the long-term absence of skipper Lee Hills – is right-back Chris Sessegnon.

King believes his small squad is well placed, eight games into the National League south campaign, and reckons just one more addition will be enough to sustain a promotion challenge for a second season in succession.

Paul Lorraine, who has been out for a year with a knee injury, could be the solution to that problem but he is still a few weeks away from a return to action.

King said: “I need a centre-half and then that will do me.

“Bryan is a left-back who can play left-sided centre-half. He and Juan have been playing really well together but Bryan’s preferred position is left-back.

“Paul Lorraine is six weeks away. Providing he comes back and plays like I know he can play we will be solid.”

King is pleased with Gotta. He said: “He is finding his feet. There are certain ways that they play abroad which are different from here, the way they mark space, pick up players.

“In the English game you have to cover each other, work together. He is getting used to it and we are not conceding many.

“We have battered nearly every team we have played. Ebbsfleet were better than us in the second half and Margate the same at home but they are the only teams that have done that against us.”

On-loan Crawley striker Shamir Fenelon returns from international duty with Republic of Ireland under-21s as Whitehawk host Maidenhead today.

Arnaud Mendy is back from being an unused substitute for Guinea-Bissau in their 4-2 African Nations Cup defeat to Congo but he completes a two-match suspension tomorrow.

Jake Robinson is close to a return from a calf injury.