MANAGER Mark Ashford is happy that he has added strength to his Witham Town squad with the new signings that he has brought in since taking charge at the Village Glass Stadium.

In the early weeks after becoming Town boss, Ashford was pleased to be able to retain a significant core of the Witham side that finished 11th in Bostik League division north last year and he has now embellished that with some impressive additions in key areas.

Ashford said some members of his squad have turned down bigger pay packets offered by other clubs to come to Witham and he is pleased to have some talented players on his roster for his debut campaign in charge.

He said: "Sam Ashford is back at the club and you saw with the three goals he scored at Halstead last weekend that he's a talented player.

"People may talk about him because of his last name, but he is with us for all the right reasons.

"The players know how highly he is rated and he could be a big player for us this season.

"He's only 22 and had six years with Spurs in their Academy so he is a talented player.

"Johnny Ashman is with after having a shoulder operation in February.

"It was a dislocated shoulder and it went when he was with me when I was over at Bowers and Pitsea.

"He hasn't had any football since his operation so you're only seeing glimpses of what he can do at the moment but he is a really exciting player.

"He has just turned 21 and is someone who I think if I can work with him regularly then he will turn into a real player and I'm really pleased to have him.

"Nathan Cook is another exceptional talent who we're glad to have.

"He is a very unusual player as he doesn't look like a footballer.

"He's a teacher in East London, but he's a very talented player who will be a big surprise to a lot of people this season in the Bostik League.

"He was with Clapton in the Essex Senior League for a long time and had had lots of offers to move away but he stayed out of loyalty to their fans.

"They were very close and the tributes that the fans did to him when he said he was leaving were incredible but as soon as I saw he was leaving, I made contact with him while I was on holiday.

"He came straight in, enjoyed it and signed on right away and he's already had a big impact for us in pre-season.

"he will make us a better team with the way that he plays so I'm very pleased to have him.

"Jack Isherwood has also joined.

"I had him for two seasons with me at Stansted, before he went to Aveley and I then worked with him again when I was at Bowers and Pitsea.

"He had a knee ligament injury and has been out so he's a bit off it at the moment, but he's another one who is super intelligent.

"I think he's played in pretty much every position for me other than goalkeeper and he's an excellent trainer - exactly the type of player we want to bring in.

"He's only 22, so he's young and very capable and another one I'm happy to have.

"So we have those four and we've just signed Veejay Miller, who has a really impressive CV.

"He was a schoolboy at Wycombe Wanderers, he had a scholarship at AFC Wimbledon and has played with teams like Bromley and Sutton United, so at 25, he has a lot of pedigree.

"He can play at full-back on either side and he can play down the middle as well so he is very versatile and is very intelligent."

One area that the Witham boss is still looking to finalise, though, is his goalkeeping berth, but he added that he is closing in on his target.

"We should be in a position to announce the goalkeeper soon as it's getting close," he said.