BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent boss Tom Rothery believes he could have struck gold in bringing Georgian Morisi Gelashvili to the Taydal Stadium.

The former Stanway Rovers defender or midfielder - known at the club as Mo - made his full debut in the R’s recent victory against Burgess Hill Town.

He was then in the starting line-up again for Saturday’s eye-catching 1-0 victory at Leatherhead.

The back-to-back wins have hoisted Regent out of the Bostik League premier division’s relegation zone - a position they hope to enhance in tonight’s match at high-flying Lewes.

“Mo looks like he could be an excellent signing,” said Rothery, who was first made aware of the 21-year-old by former Stanway boss and Colchester United legend Kem Izzet.

“He’s been very positive and is a great athlete.

“He’s strong and powerful and has added a real physicality to our team, which is something we needed.

“The other great thing is that he can play in a number of positions - full-back, wide midfield or central midfield - so could be a really good addition.

“He’s also a great lad - very polite and respectful - and it’ll be interesting to see how he does.”

London-based Gelashvili, who joined Brightlingsea from Bostik League division north side Tilbury, previously played professionally back home in Georgia.

He picked up a quad injury in Saturday’s victory at Leatherhead and is “touch and go” for tonight’s trip to the Sussex coast.

Rothery could also be without Harvey Hodd, because of injury, and is definitely without sidelined pair Jake Clowsley and Amir Lewis.

On the flip side, Jake Turner returns after being unavailable on Saturday.

“Lewes have done very well after coming up last season,” added Rothery.

“We know it’ll be a tough game but they’ll be expecting a difficult match against us, too.

“Our recent form is pretty good and we have to go there and be confident and do what we can do.

“It was a big result on Saturday.

“I genuinely believe we’re doing all we can and it’s a case of such fine margins.

“The Leatherhead game was another prime example of that.

“It was a match of very few chances and we just happened to score the only goal. In terms of overall quality, though, I wouldn’t say we played much differently to how we played in other games that we ended up losing.”

Meanwhile, the R’s boss confirmed the departure of summer signing Matt Baxter, who has joined Cambridge City.

The midfielder made 21 appearances for the R’s, scoring three goals.