Joe Ellul’s desire to play week in, week out has seen him swap from Ramsgate’s title challenge for a relegation scrap at Welling.

There’s big competition in central defence at Southwood where Ellul was battling with Craig Stone, Alfie Young, Dan Johnson and Sinnkaye Christie for two starting spots.

Rams boss Ben Smith can’t guarantee anyone a game but, at 35, the former Maidstone and Sittingbourne centre-half just wants to play.

And with new business interests to consider off the field, it makes sense to leave the Isthmian South East leaders for a club closer to his London home.

He’s joined Welling who are fighting for survival in National League South.

There’s every chance he’d have ended the season with a second title medal in three years, following National League South success with the Stones in 2022, but it was time to go.

“I spoke to the club and they were good as gold,” said Ellul.

“It wasn’t, ‘you’re on a two-year deal, you can’t go anywhere’, it was, ‘you’ve got to do what’s best for you’.

“James (Lawson, chairman) and Ben were brilliant - and they have been since the get-go.

“They’ve backed me in every way possible in all the time I’ve been there, so I take my hat off to them.

“It’s more beneficial for me to be closer to home and be able to work away from football, and they were fine with that.

“Ramsgate are a good club and they’re going places.

“They’re going to get promoted, they’ve got the players to do it, and I hope they do.

“I’ve had a lot of good messages but it’s football, it happens, you’ve got to move on and get on with it.

“It’s done now and they’ve got a title to win.

“It’s hard to walk away in that sense because there’s nothing better than being part of a team that wins the league or gets promoted through the play-offs.

“I’ll transition from a team that’s going to win the league to one that’s fighting relegation in Conference South.

“I said to Ben I could stay here and not play and sit on my money but I don’t want to do that - I want to play week in, week out.

“It was all very amicable and Ben’s left the door open.

“He said if it doesn’t work out and you want to come back, we’ll get you back and you’ll be playing again.”

Ellul, who joined Ramsgate from Sittingbourne last summer, made a big impact in his short time in Thanet, not least with his performances in their run to the FA Cup second round.

His colossal display in the 2-1 first-round win over Woking will stay with Ramsgate fans, and he also impressed in the second-round defeat at AFC Wimbledon despite the 5-0 scoreline.

“The Woking one was brilliant because it was at home, and then to play AFC Wimbledon on TV was unbelievable,” said Ellul.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted but the experience and the exposure it gave Ramsgate was fantastic.

“It boosted the club by however much in season-ticket sales and by gaining more fans.

“They regularly have 1,000 at home games and that’s what it’s all about.

“It’s not about any individual, it’s about what it does for the club going forward and it’s left them in a good place.”

Ellul was in the dugout at Park View Road on Saturday as Welling beat Chesterfield to reach the last 16 of the FA Trophy.

He’s comfortable stepping back up a couple of levels – his FA Cup performances proved that won’t be a problem – and is ready for a scrap.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Ellul. “It’s a challenge because of where they are in the league.

“I think my role will be playing as well as being in and around the boys and doing a bit of coaching as well.

“Can they get out of trouble? One hundred per cent. It’s down to hard work and taking on board what people have to say and getting the job done.

“They play good football but sometimes pretty football isn’t what wins you games. It’s going to be a scrap, a battle and who wants to fight the hardest to get out of the relegation zone.

“I spoke to a few people I’m close with and they’re saying you’ve been cruising for a year now in the lower leagues, it’s about time you stepped back up.

“I feel like in those FA Cup games you could see how I comfortable I was. I sort of came into my own playing against those teams in the higher leagues.”

Goals from Craig Stone, Medy Elito, Bode Anidugbe and TJ Jadama saw Ramsgate fight back from 2-0 down to beat Burgess Hill 4-2 at home on Saturday.

Last night, they produced another comeback from two down in a 3-2 victory at Ashford.

Connor Dymond and Vance Bola put the Nuts & Bolts in charge but Joe Taylor struck either side of Alfie Paxman to move Smith’s side 14 points clear of Cray Valley.

The Millers have four games in hand.

Ramsgate visit Horndean on Saturday (3pm).