Tony Russell has revealed the unique comparison he makes when referring to his first signing at Lewes, Joe Taylor.

The striker yesterday signed a one-year deal with the Rooks after leaving Russell’s former club Cray Wanders.

He was voted Isthmian Premier Player of the Year in the 2019-20 season after scoring 26 league goals before the season was cut short due to the Covid pandemic.

Taylor spent the second half of last season playing in National League South for Ebbsfleet United, with the Isthmian League season being curtailed.

He had already netted 13 goals in 14 appearances for Cray before the 2020/21 season was curtailed.

Russell has revealed he compares Taylor to a popular brand of paint.

He told The Argus: “I am delighted to have signed him.

“It is quite bizarre, but I compare Joe to Ronseal Quick Dry because he does exactly what it says on the tin.

“As long as he is fit he will score 30 goals, he is just a natural goalscorer.

“But he is not just a goalscorer, his hold-up play is outstanding and as a nine he is brilliant.

“In the dressing room he is someone I got close to during my time at Cray and have built both a good personal and working relationship with him.

“He is a good guy and a leader in the dressing room.”

Russell also revealed their was plenty of interest in Taylor and they had to move quickly to secure his services.

He said: “He had 18 different offers from steps one, two, three and four.

“So he had plenty of interest in him, so he was ringing me asking for advice, but then I got the job at Lewes and had to have that awkward conversation where I said ‘I can not give you anymore advice because I want you to come and play here’ “We looked at it and at first it was a long shot as to whether that could be done and it looked very unlikely that he was not going to sign.

“Then he did a bit of a u-turn and phoned me saying he wanted to join if that’s okay.

“Me and the chairman (Stuart Fuller) then shot straight off to his house that night to sign him, we were not going to hang around.”

The Rooks boss also described Taylor as the perfect first brick to put down.

He said: “He is a fantastic person on and off the pitch and that fits the mould of what we want from a player at Lewes.

“Me and Joe (Vines) want to build something here at Lewes and he is the first brick in the ground for us and he is not a bad first brick to put down.”