Danny Kedwell, the man whose penalty kick sent AFC Wimbledon into the Football League, believes he can help Ebbsfleet United make the same journey from non-league to the big time.

Kedwell left Gillingham this week to sign an 18-month contract at the PHB Stadium in one of the biggest transfers Kent football has seen in recent years.

The 31-year-old striker’s decision to drop three divisions will have raised plenty of eyebrows but he plans to start moving in the opposite direction pretty quickly.

Kedwell, who won the Conference South title with Wimbledon in 2009, settled the play-off final shoot-out against Luton two years later to send them up from the Conference. And he’s already eyeing a repeat performance in Fleet red.

He said: “Ebbsfleet came in for me and there is big potential there to be up in the Football League. I was offered a part in that.

"I was involved in that sort of stuff with Wimbledon – we started in Conference South and got them into the Football League. There is no better buzz than doing that.”

But can his new club really follow in those footsteps?

"Yes, that’s the reason I went there," Kedwell said. "I heard good things about what they’re doing there and this is a good opportunity for me to be part of that.

"I’m excited to take that step. They’ve got the potential to get into the Football League and that’s exactly why I went to Wimbledon."

Kedwell had fallen out of favour at Gillingham this season and even after Peter Taylor’s sacking last week, he knew his time at Priestfield was up.

He said: "There were League clubs interested in signing me. But I’ve done the travelling before and joining Ebbsfleet makes things easier for my family. I could have gone to another League club but I would have had to move away and I wasn’t willing to do that.

"I just want to go out and play football. It is a drop but I’m not too bothered about that. The club wants to do things, move up and get into the League. When that was said to me, I didn’t want to turn it down.

"Ebbsfleet is a great club, they’ve got ambition to move up and I want to be part of that."

Read the full Danny Kedwell interview in the Gravesend Messenger.