Manager Tommy Warrilow has some big decisions to make as his Ashford squad continues to grow.

The Nuts & Bolts put a challenging pre-season behind them with Liam Friend scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win at Burgess Hill in their Isthmian South East opener on Saturday.

It was a good start for Warrilow but he suddenly finds himself with too many players - and more to come.

He’s got ex-Charlton midfielder Louis Yamfam on the way in, and is awaiting international clearance to bring a striker over from France.

He also signed forward Laurie Diakiesse on the eve of the season, handing him a debut at Burgess Hill.

Warrilow said: “I had seven outfield players not even in the squad if Tuesday night (postponed game against Sevenoaks) had been on.

“It’s just the way it’s worked out where we’ve had to get people in during pre-season and suddenly everyone’s back at the same time from holidays and injuries have cleared up.

“I can’t keep seven in the stand but the thing is I’m still speaking to a couple of players, it’s not like I’m done.

“If players become available who will improve us, you’ve got to act on it.

“Louis Yamfam’s coming in, he cost Charlton £90,000 five years ago.

“Obviously something’s gone wrong but I’m hoping we can get him back on track, and we’ve got a tall striker who I’m waiting for international clearance on.

“I don’t like having people sat in the stand, I never have done, so I will have to cut it back.

“It’s OK if you’re a National League club and you’re in training every day but at our level you can’t ask people to train Tuesday and Thursday and then not even be on the bench.

“It’s not nice having to make these decisions but it’s part of the job.

“I’m looking to try and get some out on dual-reg but the season’s started, so clubs are sorted.

“If players are patient, fine, or it might be they end up making their own decisions if they’re not getting game time.

“I’ve never had such a big turnover of players as I did this year, we lost five or six, and it’s been a disrupted pre-season, but things will settle down.”

Ashford are off to Sutton Athletic of Southern Counties East in the FA Cup preliminary round on Saturday.

They’re a club Warrilow knows well - his kids used to play for their junior sides - and he watched their 1-0 win over Welling Town in the previous round.

“The same fella’s the chairman, they’ve done fantastically well as a club,” said Warrilow. “They’re an honest set of lads who give their all. We’re going to show them the utmost respect.”