Gary Lockyer has unfinished business at Ashford United after rejoining his hometown club.

Lockyer is back with the Nuts & Bolts following a brief spell at Cray Wanderers in the Isthmian Premier.

He started only two games under former Gillingham midfielder Neil Smith and, at 29, that’s not enough.

There was plenty of interest in the prolific striker, who scored a combined 37 goals for Kennington and Ashford last season.

But it made sense for Lockyer to return to Homelands and try to help Tommy Warrilow’s side go one step further after the disappointment of last season’s Isthmian South East play-off final defeat.

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave in the first place but Lockyer felt he needed to give the higher level a go.

“The idea of getting myself fit was to step up but it didn’t work out,” said Lockyer, who marked his return with two goals in a 4-0 win at Corinthian on Wednesday night.

“I felt a bit harshly done by, but that’s football.

“Sometimes people think because you’re getting paid you’re happy to stay but that’s not the case for me - I want to play football, so I made the decision to move on.

“I had a lot of interest to stay in the Isthmian Premier but I wanted to get back playing and what better way than to go back to my hometown club and reunite with Tommy and OB (Alex O'Brien)?

“It was tough leaving in the first place but Cray seemed a good fit and Neil Smith’s been around the game and knows quite a lot.

“He had his plans and I don’t really think he’d seen me play, I think he might have gone off recommendations from others.

“I did enjoy it there, they’re a good club, with good people, and the lads were good as well, but I need to be playing football.

“Once I left Cray, it was a no-brainer to go back to Ashford.”

Warrilow had been looking for a striker after releasing Frenchman Emile Ngoy and losing Johan ter Horst to a hamstring injury.

The chance to re-sign Lockyer couldn’t have come at a better time and it was the call the striker was waiting for.

“It was doing my head in a little bit because I like to be respectful of managers and hear everyone out but I was waiting for Tommy to ring,” said Lockyer.

“It was tough losing the play-off final last year and a lot of players moved on.

“It would have been perfect to win the play-offs with Ashford, my hometown club, so it makes sense to go back and hopefully go one step further.

“I’d like to replicate what I did last year goal-wise but I’d have swapped all those goals to win the play-off final.

“Coming back, I’ve got my personal targets which would be good to get but overall the main thing has to be to get promoted.

“The club’s been close twice now and that’s the next step.

“It’s tough to take that last step, whatever division you’re in, because everyone wants to beat you, and that’s the definitely the case with Ashford.”

Ashford were beaten 2-0 by Herne Bay in the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round on Sunday.

But they quickly put that to bed with Lockyer's double and goals from Josh Wisson and George Nikaj at Corinthian, climbing to fourth in the table.

The Nuts & Bolts host Three Bridges in the FA Trophy Second Qualifying Round tomorrow (3pm) and go to Whitehawk in the Velocity Trophy on Tuesday (7.45pm).