Chatham Town assistant Danny Kedwell, 39, has no plans to play on next season

Player-assistant Danny Kedwell knows what he’ll tell Chatham boss Kevin Hake if he asks him to play on again next season this summer - do one!

Popular ex-Football League striker and Medway man Kedwell laced his boots back up to help them win the Isthmian South East title in their first campaign back at the level.

Kedwell, 40 in August, was unsure how things would work out upon his playing return, but he had a key role in their seven-match winning league streak in the end, which saw them crowned champions as they earned back-to-back promotions.

But he said: “If he asks me again, I’m saying no!

“To be fair, it was very difficult. Obviously, I hadn’t played for so long and I was worried about the way I looked.

“But it wasn’t about that. It was about passion. That’s why I did it.

“But if he asks me to do it again, I’ll probably tell him to ‘do one’ because I already thought that was me done. But I’d never actually put it public I’d retired.

“So Kev said ‘Well, you haven’t put it public so come out [of retirement] and help’ and I was willing to do that. I wasn’t comfortable but I did it - and it worked.

“It was a good choice.”

It was a sixth promotion for Hake’s No.2, who counts Gillingham, Ebbsfleet and AFC Wimbledon among his old clubs, but a first as part of a club’s management team after a stint as Cray Wanderers boss last season.

“I said to Kev on the side this is my sixth promotion but this probably was one of the more emotional ones,” he noted.

“I don’t know why that is.

“Obviously I’m usually playing all season but, now, I’ve been on the other side and this is my first promotion as part of a coaching staff. I think that got me emotionally.

“Obviously, I was Cray manager last year and I felt a little bit hard done-by,