Craig Wilkins, who looks set to join Met Police

Ashford manager Steve Lovell is waiting to discover which of his other players will follow utility man Craig Wilkins out of Homelands.

Wlkins has quit the club and is believed to have joined Ryman League Division 1 South rivals Met Police.

Lovell admitted losing Wilkins was a shame but said he understood the player’s decision after a summer of turmoil at the club.

He said: "I have tried to get in touch with the player but I have not heard from him. I hear he has signed for Met Police.

"I can understand it because time is getting on and players can’t wait forever.

"I don’t blame him. If he’d held on for another week and had been around this week I would have tried to persuade him to stay."

After a meeting with club owners Don Crosbie and Tony Betteridge, Lovell has been given his budget for the new season.

He has contacted last season’s squad and gave them a deadline of yesterday (Wednesday) to state whether they intend to stay with the club.

Lovell said: "Now I am in a position to start building. We need to thrash out what we need to do and what we can do. I know we are a bit late in starting but I’m just pleased that we have got a club for next year.

"I have spoken to most of the players and one or two are undecided but the majority were positive about the things I had to say.

"I have got a fair budget to work with for next year and I have got to juggle it around.

"It will have to cover the players who stay on and those that I will have to bring in."

Lovell added: "I want to challenge this season. I don’t want to put a team out there to go through the motions. I want to give the supporters something to shout about."

Lovell said he wants to have an idea of retained numbers before another meeting with the owners later this week.