Danny Kedwell is being urged to carry on playing - by his own players.

The Cray Wanderers boss made his sixth appearance of the season when he came on as a substitute during last weekend’s FA Trophy defeat to Dartford.

The 38-year-old former Gillingham and AFC Wimbledon striker is ready to work on his fitness in the coming weeks amid growing calls from the squad and coaching staff to get more involved on the pitch.

“It’s frustrating because my mind is there but my legs aren’t,” said Kedwell, who scored 45 goals in 136 appearances for Gills having led AFC Wimbledon into the Football League in 2011.

“It’s mad when you’ve got players telling you that you’ve got to get fit. My own players want me playing and my coaching staff want me to get fit. We’ll see what happens because I love playing.

“It was always the case that I needed to get my team in and get them playing the way I want them to play before I even think about getting my boots back on.

“Obviously, I’ve had a few cameos, playing because of injuries. I’ve ended up playing centre-half, up front and midfield already but when I do play, I really enjoy it. I’ve come off on Saturday and really enjoyed that little spell that I’ve had. They want me to go for a run tomorrow!”

All the time Kedwell, who has also had spells in Kent at Welling and Ebbsfleet, is enjoying his football then he’s willing to contribute on the pitch.

He added: “The good thing is I went out there and still enjoyed it. If I went out there and didn’t enjoy it, then I’d probably say that’s me done, I’m retiring from playing, but that’s not the case at the minute.

“It’s hard because I came on and haven’t done anything for two months but that’s what I’d do for any team, whether I was manager or not. If someone asked me to go on and do a job then I would.”

Meanwhile, Kedwell says he can see similar qualities that he has in rookie forward Fjord Rogers.

Kedwell believes the striker can develop his game at Cray and says he’s already taken great strides forward.

“Fjord’s 23 but he doesn’t look it, he’s a man mountain,” said Kedwell. “He’s learning and he wants to learn.

“He’s not played at this level before, he’s not been coached and he’s getting there. He has got better from day one, I’m going to teach him and I do see a bit of me in him. Technically he will get better, he’ll end up being a very good player.

“When we do running and fitness he is at the top, I was never like that. He is deceptively quick, when he gets going, he is very quick. He’s going to get quicker as he trains more.

“We’ve sent him out on loan already and he’s done well. The reason he is with me is because I know he has got my mentality of running through a brick wall for anyone, if you tell him to do something he’ll do it.

“He’s one for the future, like a lot of players I’ve got in the team. It’s looking good, what I’m building and trying to build with the youngsters coming through. I’m more than confident that if we stay in this league this year, obviously that’s our main aim, then next year will be a completely different story.”