Charlie Clayton is hoping to bring his goalscoring form to Colney Heath after manager Ryan Thompson finally got his man.

He has been prolific during his time in the Spartan South Midlands League, playing for the likes of Crawley Green and Biggleswade United, and revealed the Magpies boss tried to sign him a couple of years ago.

Clayton said: "I was at Biggleswade last year and I was obviously focused on football but they were going to the United Counties League and my little girl was coming.

"I did have other clubs interested but Ryan Thompson rang me and he’s seen me play for the last four years or so.

"I’d been at Crawley Green and he asked me then would I sign.

"But he kept in touch and I knew a few of the lads and it’s quite local to me now and I thought, why not. I was keen to come.

"I’ve scored quite a lot of goals at most of the clubs I’ve been at but I’ve changed my game slightly so I drop deeper now. Last year I got a lot of assists with goals from Dave Parkinson, my strike partner at Biggleswade.

"We linked up really well and it became a routine. It mixed up my game and I enjoy it."

And having seen the Magpies up close over the years, their style of play was also a reason to don the black and white stripes.

He said: "I was impressed by the way they play, their aggression and every time I’ve played against them, it has been a good game.

"I’ve had battles against them, I’ve scored against them and they have always been up there.

"They don’t really take a beating, they are strong, they set up well and I thought, yeah, they are for me.

"I’ve played at step four before, I was at AFC Dunstable and I was at Barton Rovers so I know what the league is about and this sort of club, who are up and coming, made me even more interested in coming over.

"There are obviously good teams in there but I don’t think there is much difference from the Spartan South Midlands League.

"It’s a similar standard, maybe it comes down to fitness, but I think we’ll do well.

"I’m not saying we’ll win the league but we’re not going to go back down."