By Luke Cawdell

Lance Cronin has expressed his delight at returning to the Football League following a four-year exile.

The 24-year-old goalkeeper, pictured, signed a one-year deal with Gillingham on Monday, with the club holding an option of a second season, and he’s hoping to challenge Alan Julian for the No.1 spot.

Cronin said: "I’m delighted to earn a contract, that was the main thing first, and now secondly it’s about proving myself and trying to get into the team.

"It’s been a long time (out of the league) and it’s good to be back involved. Now I just want a chance to prove myself and show what I can do."

Cronin started out with hometown club Brighton in their centre of excellence before progressing through to Crystal Palace’s first team. He was restricted to a place on the bench with the Eagles and joined Wycombe on loan.

It was there that he made his only league appearance in a 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers on the final day of the 2004/05 season.

He was released by Palace at the end of the season and joined Oldham on non-contract terms. He was restricted to just one FA Cup appearance as a substitute before moving to Shrewsbury as understudy to current Manchester City and England keeper Joe Hart.

He dropped out of the league in 2006 and moved to Gravesend.