Paul Musgrove is adamant the marquee signing of Reggie Lambe can have a major impact on Stowmarket Town fulfilling their lofty ambitions.

The Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division outfit pulled off shock transfer coup last week by convincing the Bermuda forward to ply his trade in the ninth tier of English football, having last featured for Sky Bet League Two club Cambridge United before his contract expired in April.

Lambe wasted no time showing his pedigree, scoring on his debut in a man-of-the-match display to help guide his new club to a 5-0 rout of Eynesbury Rovers in the Buildbase FA Vase at Greens Meadow on Saturday.

Musgrove spoke of his delight to have the 29-year-old among his ranks, even if it only proves for the short-term, with the manager conceding he wouldn’t stand in Lambe’s way if a pathway back to League football presented itself.

“It’s a massive signing for the club,” said Musgrove who explained how the transfer came about. “He was on our radar early on; we did our research and it became apparent it would be a good move for us.

“He lives close by in Ipswich and is close friends with one of our players Seb Dunbar. Seb spoke to me about Reggie’s situation and after that myself and Reggie had a good long chat and got to know one another. I told him about the ambitions of the club and how we could help him get back to League football.

“It is no secret to any of us that Reggie would ideally like to be playing League football; he is the same to anyone in our squad.

“We would never hold anyone back and if we help him do that then fantastic. If he starts getting attention from elsewhere then it means he’s done something right for us so that’s a positive.

“Having a player of his calibre is huge and we’re proud to have him at the club.

“Being completely selfish I hope he’s here for a long time because he’s a fantastic player and a lovely character to have about the squad but I know he comes with a good reputation and so if it’s a case of helping him get back to a higher level then great.”

Lambe was just one of a number of players whose careers had been affected by the ongoing consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, finding himself out of contract in the most uncertain of times with clubs being forced to restrict their spending.

“Obviously with the pandemic a lot of things have been going on and unfortunately it isn’t an easy position for out of contract for players to be in,” added Musgrove.

“In all honesty we didn’t talk a great deal about if other clubs had shown an interest in him in the past few months while he’s been out of contract.

“All I know is that Reggie wanted to get back to playing again and we could offer him that opportunity. I’m in no doubt he’ll have a huge impact for us.”

Having spent the majority of his career at League-level with the likes of Bristol rovers, Mansfield Town and Carlisle United, to many on the outside, Lambe’s decision to climb down the rungs of football ladder for an opportunity will come as a shock.

However, with the ambitious club having already signed a number of former professionals in past seasons including former Ipswich Town player Dean Bowditch and former Premier League player Titus Bramble, Musgrove was quick to quash any feeling of surprise from Stowmarket’s point of view.

“I know from the outside a lot of people will be surprised that he decided to join us but from our point of view with players we’ve managed to sign in the past it wasn’t a complete shock for us,” said Musgrove, whose side sit tenth in the table, 12 points adrift of leaders Wroxham but with games in hand on those above them.

“As a club we have a massive intent to be able to achieve some big things in the near future. On the playing side it’s no secret we have been backed heavily and going forward we are determined to get out of this division as soon as possible.

“We haven’t put a limit on what we want to achieve; we want to go as far as we can and reach the highest division possible. For now the immediate aim is promotion and we will keep pushing on to achieve that.

“For me as manager it’s an exciting position to be in. I’ve had great support; I know it’s a big responsibility and I’m desperate for this club to realise its full potential.”