Martin Grant insists he has nothing but good memories from his time at Walton Casuals after the striker fired two goals on his debut for rivals Walton & Hersham on Saturday.

Grant completed a surprise switch to Stompond Lane late last week, sending the Stags’ Ryman Division One South relegation battle into turmoil.

But the 21-goal forward, who bagged his brace in the 2-1 win at Ashford Town, says that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Grant said: “In all fairness I do not want to say too much about the move as I do not want to upset anybody.

“I will say it was a very hard decision for me to leave as I have a lot of time for Walton Casuals as a team.

“They gave me a chance to prove myself and I can only thank them for that.

“I wrote a letter to the Casuals players telling them how much I thought of them and how sad I was to be leaving and I genuinely believe that.”

Grant made an immediate impact at the weekend as John Crumplin’s men breathed new life into their faltering play-off chase.

And the frontman, who struck a brace when Casuals saw off the Swans on Boxing Day, admits even he was surprised at how quickly he settled.

Grant added: “When I made the switch a few people said to me it would probably take me a while to get used to the systems and the new players so to score two goals is pretty special.

“Apparently Ryan Adams put on his facebook page that he expected me to score a hat-trick but I didn’t quite manage that!

“But this is a big test for me - I have scored for Tooting’s reserves and I have scored for Walton Casuals, so can I score the goals to get Walton & Hersham into the play-offs?”

Walton & Hersham’s next three matches: Feb 13 Merstham (h), 16 Godalming Town (SSC, h), 20 Leatherhead (a)