Kingstonian boss Alan Dowson hopes to give his squad a wake-up call as he expects to welcome fresh blood to Kingsmeadow this week.

The 40-year-old manager has not been impressed with the performances of some of his men, despite seeing them sat third in the Ryman League Premier Division table.

And Dowson, who hinted he might be lining up a raid on crisis club Croydon Athletic lsat week, says he is on the verge of something exciting ahead of the weekend.

“I think it will be quite a big signing for this club and I hope to have it done,” he said.

“We’ve played well this season but some of our players have not been performing.

“They know who they are.

“The person I have in mind is capable of playing several leagues higher - there is no doubt about that - and I’m excited about the prospect.”

Ks drew a trip to Margate in the next qualifying round of the FA Cup, having been handed a bye - and a £3,000 windfall -thanks to the withdrawal of Croydon Athletic.

Dowson is determined to make the most of his side’s good fortune by converting it into a money-spinning cup run to the first round proper.

And he insists that while the second qualifying round draw has not been kind, progress in the cup is never easy anyway.

“I’m dying to get a decent FA Cup run under my belt. I’ve never done it as a manager,” he added.

“To do that you have got face and beat hard teams, it is as simple as that. Watching Sutton get knocked out at the weekend shows how hard it is.

“It is a tough trip, but getting a result there is what we’ve got do.”

Dowson expects to welcome Bashiru Alimi back from injury for the visit of Maidstone United at the weekend, where a supporters collection will help raise money for Leukaemia support charity the Emily Ash Trust.

“Martin Tyler ran the boys into the ground on Saturday so we should be ready,” said the manager.

“The whole squad is fit and it will be good to have Bash back involved.”

Kingstonian’s next three games: Sept 18 Maidstone Utd (h), 21 Hendon (a), 25 Margate (FAC, a).