DANNY Scopes believes the addition of a hungry Acea Laurent could prove crucial as Concord Rangers look to end the season on a high.

Laurent has completed the switch from local rivals Billericay Town and is in line to make his Beach Boys debut when they visit Chippenham Town tonight.

Concord boss Scopes feels Laurent will be a valuable asset.

“Acea is someone that we liked when we played Billericay during the Christmas period,” said Scopes.

“We had also seen he was not getting much game time at Billericay.

“With the number of games we have to play, we felt he would be another good hungry addition to the squad for the rest of the season and with a view to next term.”

Laurent penned a deal with Concord ahead of the weekend defeat to Hemel Hempstead Town but was an unused substitute.

Temi Babalola is another recent arrival, having switched following impressive performances for Isthmian North outfits Romford and Brentwood Town.

The 18-year-old made his first start at Hemel and Scopes believes there are already promising signs coming from the powerful forward.

“I felt Temi worked extremely hard for the team at Hemel and, in the first half, he proved to be a real handful for them,” added Scopes.

“He tired in the second half, which we expected as he has not played games at this level before.

“Temi adds pace and power to the frontline and has some real raw ability we are looking forward to working with.

“He is the type of young, hungry player we want to give a chance to.”

Concord, who are 14th in the National League South standings, head to third-from-bottom Chippenham looking to return to winning ways.

But Scopes felt the Beach Boys should have returned from Hemel with at least a share of the spoils.

“I felt we started the first half really well with some great football and energy all over the pitch,” admitted Scopes.

“We created a few good chances and put plenty of balls into their penalty area, but we just couldn’t get the breakthrough we deserved.

“A mistake on half-time gave them an undeserved lead and made it harder for ourselves.

“We hit the post in the second half and forced their goalkeeper into some good saves.

“Their goalkeeper was the man of the match and that tells you the story of the game.

“It’s a big week for the club and we work hard in the early stages of the season for these moments.”