Tonbridge Angels have announced the signing of the former Charlton and Gillingham midfielder Scott Wagstaff.

The 32-year-old, who has made more than 300 football league appearances, was born and still lives in Kent, and played in yesterday’s friendly against Hythe Town.

Scott said:  “I’ve been training with Jay (Jay Saunders, Angels Boss) and the team.  To start with I wanted to get my fitness through training, and I definitely want to play for Jay.  It’s been a good environment and I’ve really enjoyed it.   It’s a club going in the right direction and I’m really looking forward to being part of the journey now.

“As soon as I met Jay I knew he was someone I wanted to play for.  One of the reasons Jay wanted me to come in is it’s a young group, there are two or three older lads, but football’s going a lot younger, and you need a couple of older heads around to get you through certain situations.  Hopefully some of the young boys can learn a bit off me and maybe I can learn a bit from the young boys because you’re always learning.  

“I think I’ve still got a lot to give at a higher level. I’m not giving up on that.  The standard at non-league is often a lot better than some league two clubs.  A lot of older players drop into the national league now.  This will be the transition period now, it’s keeping myself fit, and getting a few other things in place for when I finish.  I’m in Kings Hill which is not a long journey.  I can finish the game and be home in twenty minutes which I haven’t had for a while so that’ll be quite nice.”

Scott was known more as a wide player at Charlton, so where is he expecting to play for the Angels?

“I can play anywhere, I was only playing wing-back a year ago.  It’s a good thing to have in my locker to have a few positions, but Jay wants me to add a bit of experience to central midfield and help manage games.  If certain things happen and we get injuries maybe things will change but I think I’ll be in the middle of the park for now.”

Scott was here at Longmead last season, he was in the Bromley squad, who we played on their route to Wembley to win the FA Trophy, but he had to watch the whole run from afar, having got cup-tied before joining the Ravens:

“Yeah, that killed me!   I wasn’t able to play because I played 45 minutes for Aldershot, so I had to keep coming out of the team, which meant it was a stop-start end to the season, although I enjoyed it there.  My last game for them was five months ago.  The only way to get fit is playing games.  Maybe the first two or three I might be a bit off it but I’ll try and come in as sharp as I can.  I’ve been looking after myself, so hopefully I can start my season flying and get involved as quickly as I can.”

When asked about some of his career highlights, you realise there’s quite a nice list to choose from:   

“The promotions with Charlton and Bristol City were massive moments of my career, maybe on a personal level the West Ham game, when we played them in the FA Cup (with AFC Wimbledon) when I scored two goals was probably the best game I had.  I was very lucky to be involved in a game like that.  Nobody will take that away from me, but the promotions are when you enjoy yourself because you’re winning most weeks.”Saunders said: “I’m really pleased to get Scott in after losing Lofty (Doug Loft) and Parky (Tommy Parkinson).  I’ve been working on getting another more experienced player around the squad and Scott is perfect for us.  He’s still a great age and will be a massive benefit to us on and off the pitch.”