Ibrahim Olutade looks set for the regular football he craves after joining Tonbridge Angels.

Olutade feared he would struggle to get another club after a frustrating two seasons at Maidstone.

But he needn’t have worried as Tonbridge followed up previous interest in the striker and offered him the chance to stay in National League South.

Angels coach James Scott - who knew Olutade from their Balham days - set up a meeting with manager Steve McKimm and a deal was soon done.

“Steve said everything I needed to hear,” said Olutade.

“After that first chat it was a no-brainer to join Tonbridge.

“He said I’ll be playing week-in, week-out...it was just his philosophy on everything. He’s a good guy.

“I want to play at this level and prove I can score goals if I’m given a chance.”

Olutade, 22, arrived at Maidstone as a prolific scorer at lower levels with Leatherhead and Balham.

But he had to wait more than a year for his first start - scoring against Billericay - and barely featured.

“I thought I’d struggle to find another club after my two years at Maidstone,” he said.

“I felt like I hadn’t done enough, especially at this level, and I didn’t want to go back to Step 3 because I’ve done what I need to do there.

“In my head I was thinking I might struggle because clubs always ask you what you’ve done, they speak to other managers and do their research.

“Luckily enough Tonbridge had kept tabs on me and once I knew I wasn’t staying at Maidstone, I told Scotty I’d come down for a chat.

“It was a weird one when I had my meeting at Maidstone because they didn’t say they wanted to get rid of me but they felt I hadn’t done enough, which was frustrating because I didn’t get much of an opportunity.

“In my head I was thinking, ‘Yeah, maybe I need to start preparing to find a new club’ and then I had confirmation I wouldn’t be offered a new deal.

“I spoke to my agent and he said, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll find a club.’ I always want to play at the highest level possible and once I knew it wasn’t going to be at Maidstone, I had to think of alternatives.”

For someone who made just a handful of appearances, Olutade had a good relationship with Stones fans.

That’s continued - even though he’s joined their local rivals.

“It was a weird one because I used to get so many messages from Maidstone fans asking why I wasn’t playing,” he said.

“I knew there was a rivalry between Maidstone and Tonbridge but I didn’t think about it when I signed.

“I wondered afterwards whether I might get a few funny messages but I actually got a lot of supportive messages, saying good luck, which I was surprised by.

“I never really had a chance to show what I could do at Maidstone, the fans know that, and that’s probably why they’ve been so good to me.”

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