Wealdstone boss Gordon Bartlett hopes to retain Scott McGleish for next season but is unsure whether the veteran forward will remain at Grosvenor Vale.

The former Leyton Orient and Bristol Rovers goal-getter scored his tenth goal of the season in Saturday’s crushing 4-1 Conference South win over Farnborough and has played an important role this term as the Stones established themselves at a higher level following promotion.

Asked if there had been any discussions about extending the veteran hitman’s stay in HA4, Bartlett was coy.

“I have had a chat with Scott. We have brought him onto the coaching staff this year and he has perhaps not had as many starts as he would like.

“It is all very amicable and it is important for Scott to make the right decision for him, as it is with all players.

“We are still discussing it and I know Scott has thoroughly enjoyed his time with us and we would all like to extend it.”

Bartlett added: “He would be an important player next season if he were to stay.”

The Stones were unable to build on Saturday’s victory over Farnborough on Monday as they lost out 1-0 to big-spending Ebbsfleet United at Grosvenor Vale.

Bartlett’s side were not helped by the controversial dismissal of striker Jefferson Louis, who had scored a hat-trick in the trouncing of the Yellows two days earlier.

The experienced forward was shown a straight red card for an alleged elbow on Ebbsfleet defenderMatt Fish but Bartlett refused to be drawn on the referee’s call.

Reflecting on defeat against the Fleet, Bartlett mused: “I think it shows how far we have come that we were disappointed to go down 1-0.

“We pitted our wits against a side where one of their players was earning not far away from our entire staff,” added Bartlett.

Wealdstone have frequently set up with just one striker away from home this season with Bartlett preferring to use two forwards for home games.

And that system has been responsible for a record of just one defeat in Wealdstone’s last 11 away fixtures.

However, Bartlett elected to tweak the side for the visit of Jamie Day’s side on Monday.

He explained: “The way we have set up away from home has been a little bit different.

“This Monday we set up a little differently at home and ended up losing 1-0.

“I think we would have been in the play-offs if we had a home record like we do away.

“I can’t put my finger on why we have not done so well at home other than teams coming here are keeping it tight and inviting us to break them down.”

Stones host Whitehawk on Saturday.