WHILE he was disappointed to see a member of his squad depart, Braintree Town boss Danny Searle said the exit of Justin Amaluzor would open opportunities for other players to show what they could do.

Amaluzor left the Iron ahead of their trip to Eastleigh last weekend to link up with former Braintree manager Hakan Hayrettin at another side battling against Vanarama National League relegation - Maidstone United.

The deal offered by the Stones to the winger takes him up to the summer of 2020 and Searle said he had no issues with Amaluzor's decision as it gave chances to other members of his squad.

He said: "You never want to lose good players and he was hitting form where he was performing well for us.

"So we wanted to keep him, but he went with our blessing because he handled himself very well and was open and honest about his situation.

"With his situation one and off the pitch, you have to say it was a sensible move for him at this moment in time, but only time will tell if it was sensible for him footballing-wise. "It's not really detrimental to us now because he has left and it gives opportunities to other good players who we have in our squad."

With Amaluzor departing, it may give Searle to add new strength to his group, but he insisted that was something that he never stopped doing anyway, as long as players coming in were a good fit.

"I don't think you ever not look to improve your squad," he added.

"Whether that's through contact time with the players you have or in brining in new players who can improve you as a group when they become available.

"I always liken it to having a new mobile phone and say that you don't pass up the chance to get an upgrade when it's available - otherwise we'd all be walking around with phones the size of house bricks that they had in the '80s.

"So I'm always looking. "It often comes down to money, but I need players with the right desire as well as ability.

"They need to fit in like Korrey (Henry) and Sam (Kelly) have done and be able to fit straight in."