FRANKIE Merrifield says he is looking forward to working under new Canvey Island manager Mark Bentley.

The 24-year-old, who signed on a dual registration deal from Chelmsford City in December 2016 before making a permanent move, admitted he was shocked at Danny Heale’s departure.

But Merrifield is looking forward now and is determined to get a good result against Tilbury tomorrow.

“The players didn’t know anything about Danny’s exit and it was a shock,” said Merrifield. “He has done well at the club and we have a lot of respect for him.

“We met Mark on Tuesday and he seems like a nice guy. We are looking forward to seeing what he can offer.”

But Merrifield admits it may take some time for the team to gel under Bentley.

That said, he remains confident the group can continue to perform after securing a morale-boosting draw in a friendly against Dulwich Hamlet on Tuesday.

“It might take a few weeks or maybe a bit longer to get to grips with how Mark wants us to work but we still have the same group of players,” said Merrifield, who scored a late equaliser against the National League South side.

“We know what we need to do. We will adapt to his tactics week by week.

“It was a good test for us against Dulwich. We didn’t care about the result but a draw was a good outcome for us.”

Canvey have been inconsistent in recent weeks, with tomorrow’s visitors Tilbury looking to exploit that after they recorded a first league win of the season on Tuesday.

Merrifield said: “They will be confident and Keithy [manager Joe Keith] will get them firing. We need to get going quickly and push on.”