Cripps believes he has made a great choice in joining Clacton

The striker was not short of options after leaving Halstead Town and ultimately had to decide between the Seasiders and Coggeshall Town.

However, after opening his goal account in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Great Yarmouth, Cripps feels sure he has picked wisely in opting for a move to the Rush Green Bowl.

And he hopes to play regularly and score more goals between now and the end of the season.

"I had five or six offers after saying I was leaving Halstead," said the 23-year-old, who is the cousin of former Clacton defender and current Brightlingsea Regent skipper Matt Cripps.

"It was a nice feeling and not something I'd experienced before.

"I gave it a lot of thought and boiled it down to Clacton and Coggeshall.

"But I decided Clacton was the best option for me and liked what I heard from (manager) Kieron (Shelley).

"I felt it was the best place for me in terms of playing week in, week out, which is exactly what I need after being injured since the end of last season.

"I also like the thought of a challenge and certainly wasn't put off by the club's position in the table.

"If anything, I found that attractive because I wanted to come in and play my part in helping the team improve.

"I'd seen their recent results had picked up and was really impressed after speaking to Kieron."

Cripps, who started at West Bergholt, suffered a groin injury at the end of last year, having already plundered 19 goals for Halstead.

He was unable to train throughout the summer and even missed the first few games of this season.

Now he wants to make up for lost time and was delighted to notch in Saturday's Thurlow Nunn League premier division draw at Yarmouth.

"I haven't really been fully fit since my injury and that's why it's so important for me to keep playing," he said.

"I've missed a lot of football and want to make up for it this season.

"It was great to get off the mark at the weekend and ironic that my first goal should come at Yarmouth.

"I scored my first Halstead goal there, too, and that was also in a 1-1 draw.

"I'm the sort of striker who loves playing off the shoulder of a big front man, like Keiron (Baker).

"I thought we linked up well on Saturday.

"We've only had a game and a half together but I think it's going to be a good partnership.

"Having been here a couple of weeks, I definitely think I've made the right choice in joining Clacton.

"I'm really enjoying it.

"The manager has done a great job and there's a really good bunch of lads at the club.

"As players, we're all convinced we'll stay up and I think we're too good to go down.

"Saturday's game (at home to Newmarket) will be tough but I don't see any reason why we can't keep picking up points. We're definitely capable of it."