Carshalton Athletic hitman Nathaniel Pinney will only leave Colston Avenue if the right club comes along, boss Tommy Williams has claimed.

Former Crystal Palace striker Pinney hit 21 league goals for the Robins last season, but they could not avoid relegation to the Ryman Division One South.

Now, after the dust has settled on a long, hard season, Williams is being inundated with enquiries about 22-year-old Pinney.

The manager said: “Nathaniel is a top goalscorer and they are hard to come by, so it is no surprise there is interest in him.

“He had lost his way with football before coming to us, but he has now got his love for the game back again and he is looking for a return to full-time football.

“But he will only leave here if the right club comes along. It has to be right for Nathaniel, and it has to be right for us.”

Williams remains confident that, despite relegation, the majority of the squad will stay on for the new campaign.

He said: “I am in talks with the guys at the moment and I know that most of the squad will stay on.

“I want to keep the nucleus of the side together because they were playing so well at the end of last season.

“Some will leave, I know that, but I want to keep the younger and more experienced players together and keep the chemistry we’d created last season.”

Williams, who won Division One South with Kingstonian in 2009, will be passing on his experience when his squad is finally settled.

Your Local Guardian: Tommy Williams

Promotion: Tommy Williams, number eight, celebrates promotion with Kingstonian in 2009

“It is a very tough league to get out of, and you have to be on your game week in, week out,” he said.

“It’s the long Tuesday trips to Kent where you need to be mentally right and really up for it.

“Those are the games that decide if your season is succesful or if you have to wait another year.

“I will be making sure the players are ready for that when the season starts again come August."