BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent boss Tom Rothery has hailed the influence of goal king Aaron Condon - both on the pitch and off it.

The former FC Clacton man has notched five goals in his last three games and seven in total since returning to the Taydal Stadium in early November.

He followed up braces against Corinthian Casuals and AFC Hornchurch with a dramatic late winner in Saturday's 1-0 success against Bishop's Stortford.

And he will be hoping to add to his tally when Regent head to Tonbridge Angels on Saturday, followed by a home date with Bognor Regis Town next Tuesday.

"Aaron's a big character," said Rothery.

"He's a positive, nice lad who brings a lot to the changing room because he's popular and well-liked by his team-mates.

"He's an experienced, senior player who has a voice and he also brings real quality on the pitch, obviously.

"He's a fantastic finisher and goalscorer and I've never made any secret of the fact I didn't want to lose him in the summer (Condon joined Coggeshall Town before returning to North Road)."

Rothery also hailed the defensive solidity of Ricky Griggs, who missed a big chunk of the first part of the season through injury, and the impact of new signing Morisi Gelashvili and up-and-coming midfielder Jordan Barnett.

But he said it had been a "whole team effort" and a combination of "lots of little things", because nothing has changed in terms of work-rate, determination or training.

"Training-wise, we're not doing too much differently," added Rothery.

"(Assistant boss) Pip Boyland's an excellent coach doing a brilliant job, but he's not doing much differently and the boys are working as hard as they have been for the majority of the season.

"It's been lots of little things but we've always stayed positive, in the way we've lined up and played."

Rothery was delighted with his side's latest success, which came in front of 252 supporters at the Taydal Stadium on Saturday.

"I thought we had the better of the game," he said.

"We controlled large parts of it without it ever being one-sided."