Halstead Town manager Mark Benterman is a happy man after bolstering his strike force ahead of the Humbugs Thurlow Nunn League division one promotion push next season.

Benterman was delighted to have landed former AFC Sudbury, Needham Market and Diss Town striker Matt Dixon from Stowmarket Town and feels his new addition can complement the other attacking options he has at Rosemary Lane.

Dixon joins after scoring 26 goals in division one for Stowmarket last season – four of which came against Halstead - and knows what it takes to get promoted from that level after helping Thetford Town into the premier division five years ago.

The Halstead boss said: “Matt is someone who we have been speaking to for a while.

“He scored 26 goals in our league last year and he’s the type of player who you know is guaranteed to get you goals. He’ll be a great complement for Sam Cripps and Jordan Hutchings up front for us.

“Jordan got five goals in the six games he played through the middle for us and Sam set the world alight up front for us.

“We’re happy they have both agreed to stay and we felt who better to have alongside them than Matt. Our centre halves said he was an absolute menace and a nuisance when he played against us last year and when you look at his track record, he just keeps scoring goals.

“With the type of chances that we created and didn’t always put away last year, we feel he will score a lot for us this year.

“This is a very good signing for us and good news for Halstead.”

Benterman said he has been buoyed by the number of players from last year’s squad who have said they want to stay at the club next year, however, there have been a few departures.

The manager added: “The first challenge that we had after having a season like we had last year was keeping the boys together so we are pleased to have done that.

“We always knew we’d be looking for another goalkeeper and Charlie Davis has gone on a scholarship to America, while Ryan Weaver and Joe O’Hare have also left. Ryan has gone back to Haverhill Rovers to link up with an old mate and Joe feels he can break into Chelmsford’s first team, but we’ve kept the remainder of the squad and we have to realise now that the pressure is on us to perform.”