Gary Lockyer wants to fire Ashford United to promotion after becoming the club’s all-time top goalscorer.

Captain Lockyer moved level with Sean Welford on 85 goals after scoring in a 3-1 defeat at Faversham on Saturday.

And he broke the record by launching the Nuts & Bolts’ comeback from 2-0 down at home to Margate on Bank Holiday Monday.

They went on to lead 3-2 but conceded a last-gasp equaliser.

Lockyer has long had Welford’s tally in his sights and, with 141 games under his belt, he’s also looking to break Pat Kingwell’s record of 181 appearances for the reformed club.

Personal accolades mean a lot to the 32-year-old, who won the Golden Ball for finishing top scorer in last season’s FA Cup.

But the ultimate reward would be promotion with his hometown club.

“I’m pleased and I’m proud to have done it, especially being a local boy,” said Lockyer, who is aiming to reach 100 Ashford goals by the end of the season.

“When I came back last year, it was one of the stats I wanted to get to.

“Hopefully I can collect the appearance record this year and I want to get that promotion that Ashford so deserve.

“Over all the records, that is the main project with Lloyd (Hume) and Dave (Warr, co-owners) coming into the club.

“The off-the-pitch stuff they’re doing is amazing and I think all the fans have bought into that.

“It’s a big club and I think Ashford deserve to take that next step, and we’ve got to continue trying to do that on the pitch.

“My full focus is on being as competitive as possible and trying to get that promotion, whether it’s through the play-offs or winning the league.

“Every time you step out, your main objective is to try and win something and that’s what we need to try and achieve.

“The last year has been amazing for me, winning the FA Cup Golden Ball and all the stuff that came around that.

“I got to go to Vietnam and play with idols that I looked up to and watched, being a Man United fan, and now I’ve broken the goalscoring record.

“The next thing is to get a promotion and, being club captain, that would top it all off.”

Lockyer started the first of several spells at Homelands in 2011 as a 17-year-old following the demise of Ashford Town.

Had he stayed put he would almost certainly have broken Dave Arter’s record of almost 200 goals for the original club.

But the United record is his and it was a special moment when he hit the back of the net on Monday to get the Nuts & Bolts back in the game against Margate.

After scoring 36 goals last season, he needed just three more to take Welford’s crown.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Lockyer.

“I started out in 2011 as a 17-year-old.

“I was quite young and the club were starting out again, there wasn’t really a base of money to attract players, so they went with a lot of local players.

“I left halfway through the season because they got another forward in, which is what happens.

“Would I have liked to stay then? Yes, I think so, because the Ashford Town record would have been good to break and Dave Arter was obviously a big figure in the town.

“Back in the day, he was a top forward.

“I didn’t watch much of him, because I probably wasn’t born at the time, but I did watch a few Ashford Town games in the late 90s and early 2000s.

“When you go and watch your local side as a kid, that’s who you want to play for before you think ‘I’m going to go and play for Man United’.

“There’s a lot of children who come and watch Ashford so I always make sure as club captain, but even as a local player, that I interact with them.

“The fans spend their money and come week in, week out, and you give them the best experience they can possibly have.”