CONCORD Rangers striker Tony Stokes says retaining the Essex Senior Cup was a hugely emotional experience...as he prepares to make some big decisions regarding his future this summer.

The Beach Boys captain broke down after scoring his team’s second goal in Monday night’s 5-0 win over Billericay Town, sinking to the turf before he was surrounded by his teammates.

Stokes, 28, admits he does not know what the future holds after a season in which he has been used in a rotation policy with the club’s other strikers.

And he says he will be doing some soul-searching this summer, as he prepares to get married in June.

“It was a really emotional game for me,” he said. “No-one on that football pitch wanted to win more than me. You never know what is going to happen in the summer or when your last game for the club is going to be. I gave absolutely everything out there but I was pleased I was able to channel my emotions in a positive way.

“It has been hard playing one week and then sitting out the next and it has been frustrating but it is so nice to end it with my fourth trophy at Concord.

“I get married in June and we go away on our honeymoon afterwards so I will have some time to think and make some decisions.”

Stokes, who says he only stayed behind for a few beers following the win (although admits the rest of the team continued celebrating into the early hours), said manager Danny Cowley told him he would be starting against Billericay an hour before kick-off.

This was after he and fellow striker Joe Gardner linked up so well at Victoria Road earlier in the season to knock Dagenham & Redbridge out of the cup.

He and Gardner tore Billericay apart, having a hand in the first four goals before they were both substituted midway through the second-half to standing ovations.

And Stokes says he enjoys playing alongside Gardner, with the latter scoring Concord’s third goal after a sublime Stokes flick.

“We work well together,” he said. “He reads the game well and knows where I am going to play the ball. It has often been me and Joe as one partnership with Steve (Cawley) and (Lewis) Taaffe the other and it is good that Danny has those options at his disposal.

“We still have a game to go and then I will think about what lies beyond the summer.”