Tonbridge boss Steve McKimm has allowed Dan Bennett to rejoin Merstham after a brief spell at Longmead.

McKimm wanted the midfielder to stay but wasn’t going to stand in his way.

He said: “It just didn’t work out for Dan here. He decided to leave and we wish him all the best.

“I didn’t want him to go but I only honour people’s wishes.

“He phoned me on Sunday to say it wasn’t working out. He did well when he played but players have to decide what they want and there’s no point keeping an unhappy player.

“He’s gone back to Merstham. They’ve lost a couple of players and it’s helped that he’s gone straight back into their side.”

Tonbridge’s Bostik Premier play-off bid suffered with a third straight defeat at the weekend, losing 4-2 at Needham Market. Angels were four down when Sam Bantick and Joe Turner scored late on.

McKimm was pleased with the performance despite the result.

He said: “It sounds perverse really, and fans don’t want to hear it but we played well. We had 17 attempts on target but only scored twice.”

Tonbridge remain 11th and McKimm said: “Fans, players, managers, we all want to be the best we can and at the moment, this season hasn’t worked out for us.

“I allude to what we’ve done in the past but that’s history now and we’ve got to look to the future.”

Tonbridge host fifth-placed Staines on Saturday - a side McKimm rates highly.

He said: “They’ve got a good front three who score a lot of goals, they’re strong and well-organised.”