Chairman Lee Harding said Charlie Strutton has now made official contact with the club after a period when the Iron had not heard from him, but had still not attended any training sessions since Christmas.

Harding had admitted to being bemused earlier this year when Strutton had not reported back to the Iron after a loan spell at Slough Town and repeated attempts to contact him had failed.

However, the chairman said the striker, who is in the second year of a two-year contract with Braintree, had now written to the club to appoint a representative to represent him in dealings with the club, although he hadn’t so far returned to training with the team.