HALSTEAD Town manager Mark Benterman believes that Ellis Carter turning down a move to AFC Sudbury is a sign of how far the Rosemary Lane club have come this year.

The Suffolk side put in a seven-day approach for the Town winger, but he immediately decided that staying at Halstead was the best option for him.

And that vote of confidence was music to Benterman’s ears ahead of today’s Thurlow Nunn League division one trip to Needham Market Reserves.

The Halstead boss, pictured left, said: “I had an e-mail with the seven-day approach come in just as the lads were arriving for training and I showed it to Ellis, but he said straightaway: ‘I’m not going anywhere’.

“He said he saw it not as a step up but as a step sideways and wants to stay here and progress with Halstead.

“And that’s great for us because we want to keep players like Ellis.

“He is still young and he is a massive part of our plans.

“He is tremendously well thought of and someone who can get the crowd off their seats.

“When he cuts inside and runs at goal it’s frightning.

“He can create goals, he can score goals, he is good in the air – he has the whole package really.

“And for him to turn down a club like Sudbury because he wants to stay here shows how far we have come.”

Meanwhile, the premier division’s bottom two sides go head-to-head as Woodbridge Town travel to face WIVENHOE TOWN today.

Neither side has won a game so far this year, with the Dragons only above Woodbridge thanks to a superior goal difference.

STANWAY ROVERS, FC CLACTON and BRANTHAM ATHLETIC are all also at home as they welcome Kirkley and Pakefield, Haverhill Rovers and Ely City respectively.