Wealdstone boss Gordon Bartlett has hailed the impact Elliot Benyon has made since joining the club, likening the striker’s work ethic and attitude towards the game to his assistant manager Scott McGleish.

Since joining from Hayes & Yeading United, Benyon has scored eight goals in just 11 games for Stones, but that has come as no surprise to Bartlett who sees similarities between the 29-year-old and veteran McGleish.

He told the Times: “I certainly think there are similarities between the two of them. The work ethic they both have is outstanding, they mirror each other in that respect.

“A lot of goalscorers just think about themselves, but Scott and Elliot are very much team players.

“We brought Scott on at centre-half on Saturday – he’s still as passionate about the game now as he was when he was a kid.

“If you could bottle that hunger and desire he still possessed you’d make an absolute fortune.

“Elliot is in exactly the same category – we have very high hopes for him.”

Bartlett admited that securing Benyon had been one of his main priorities this summer, as well as signing Danny Green from Margate.

He added: “I went out at the start of the season with my top two priorities being Elliot Benyon and Danny Green. I watched both of them closely last season and was really impressed with what I saw.

“I went after Greeny last year but couldn’t get him, but thankfully we got that one done and of course, Elliot. I’m not surprised with how well the pair of them have started.”

Stones have started the season in promising fashion, moving up to sixth in the National League South after a 1-0 victory at Concord Rangers on Tuesday night.

However, Bartlett is refusing to get carried away, insisting his main target is for Stones to remain in the top half heading into Christmas.

“If you’ve offered us to be sitting sixth in the table halfway through September, we would have accepted that,” admitted Bartlett.

“It’s been a solid start on the whole and we’ve picked up a few injuries, which has been frustrating, but it’s part and parcel of the game.

“It’s not like we’ve avoided the big boys either, we’ve played four teams right up at the top of the division.

“Ebbsfleet are the favourites to win the league and they haven’t started as well as they would have liked but on Saturday against us they were very good.

“There’s definitely more quality in the squad, there’s a better harmony and spirit, too.

“Any time it has gone wrong we’ve responded very well. I don’t think the boys felt they did themselves justice, so it’s up to ourselves to get a run going again now so we can be competing towards the top six.

“It’s a new group and they’re learning all the time but on Saturday we didn’t do ourselves justice.

“If we’re a top-half side by Christmas we’ll reassess it, but my main priority at the moment is making this side competitive and to finish in the top half of the division.

“We’re being stretched at the moment, particularly defensively, but we’ll overcome it.

“I think the squad have blended really well together. We feel as a group that we’ve improved the situation hugely from last season, and we’ll continue to do that.

“There’s a feel-good factor around the club and there’s a lot more belief.

“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, though.

“We have the building blocks to push on now so who knows what could happen.”