Graham Golds says he is sad to see Sean Shields head back to Dagenham & Redbridge after the midfielder ended his loan spell at St Albans City by scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 win against Havant and Waterlooville on Saturday.

The 22-year-old spent three years with the Saints before joining the Daggers in the summer of 2013.

He returned to Clarence Park three months ago on a short-term loan and made 15 appearances.

“Unfortunately the only way we could keep Sean is if we were to sign him permanently and that is not really possible,” the Saints’ joint-manager explained.

“Sean has come back and has done very well for us. He has scored five goals and has got a few assists so we are sad to see him go again.

“Would we look at bringing someone else in on loan? It is always a possibility if the right player becomes available but we have other players in our squad that can come into the side and do a good job for us. So we will not panic.”

Saturday’s victory over Havant moved the Saints up to ninth in the Conference South table. Golds and James Gray’s side created several chances to win the game but the deadlock wasn’t broken until the 83rd minute.

Steve Wales chipped a pass across the penalty area to Shields. He controlled, shifted the ball onto his left foot and arrowed his strike into the net to secure the three points for the Saints.

It was only St Albans’ third home league victory of the campaign and Golds admits his side have struggled to impress at Clarence Park this season.

He said: “I am very pleased with Saturday’s win but I am particularly pleased with the performance. We have not been great a home this season but to get a win against a side in the top six hopefully will get us back on track.

“Defensively we were solid at the weekend which was important and we also created three or four good scoring opportunities.

“We can’t put our finger on why exactly we have struggled a bit in terms of the performances at home but Saturday was an improvement. Perhaps the players feel a little bit more pressure at Clarence Park, I’m not sure.”

The Saints are back at home this Saturday as they entertain fellow Conference South side Wealdstone in the FA Trophy.

A victory would bank St Albans £4,000 in prize money and progress to the first round proper of the competition.

While Golds admits the Trophy does not have the same prestige as the FA Cup, it is a competition he hopes the Saints can progress in.

He said: “The FA Cup is always a massive competition and the Trophy isn’t at the same level. But with the Trophy comes good prize money and the possibility of a Wembley final so we want to do well.

“Hopefully we can keep going through the rounds and get a buzz created around the place. That buzz would hopefully then translate into the league and we could get a run going in that.”