Departing striker Andy Pugh hopes that Welling fans understand why he left the club for full-time football.

Pugh joined Cambridge United on Wednesday afternoon for an initial £15,000 after scoring 19 goals for the Wings this season.

"I do leave with a heavy heart," he admitted. "The last year and a half has progressed me the most throughout my career. I owe that to Jamie Day, Barry Ashby, Dean Frost, the players and all the fans.

"Everyone at Welling has believed in me and I'd like to think I have given them everything I could and scored some vital goals.

"Everyone knows me as a person by now. Before I went to Welling I could have gone somewhere else and got more money but I wouldn't have enjoyed my football as much.

"For me, this is the right move now and I'm hoping that we can both continue to progress.

"Welling have given me a great opportunity. I'm sure under Jamie Day they will be fine and will carry on fighting for the play-off spots."

Pugh (pictured) scored 46 goals in 84 games for Welling over two loan spells and a permanent switch after he left Gillingham in the summer of 2010.

"That's better than one in two," responded Pugh, when told of his goal record at Park View Road. "Everywhere I've gone, I've always tried to get that ratio and my form this season has helped me get that.

"It would have been nice to get the 20-goal mark. It was going through my mind before the game against Dartford (that I was one away) but 19 in 25 starts is not bad."

Pugh has attracted plenty of interest in recent months, but he admitted that it made him a better player knowing that he was in the shop window.

"I feel that I have got stronger over the past couple of months," he said. "At the start of the season I was doing okay but scoring goals. Now I feel I have come on and held the ball up better, made chances and felt fitter in the last couple of months.

"I have benefited from thinking that clubs are watching me as I have raised my game. It is wierd to know that I am worth some money. It's good to know that someone is willing to pay for you but I can't let that go in my mind.

"I need to carry on doing the hard work I have for the last year and a half and try to progress even further."