Pitchero Non League

Dave Webb

....title-challenging Highworth Town squad together.

Forward TJ Bohane, who hit an incredible thirty-seven goals in thirty-eight Hellenic Premier games last campaign, has signed for Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South & West outfit Hungerford Town, while another goalscoring threat, Matty Bennett, has been subject to interest from Devizes Town.

Highworth missed out on the title by four points last campaign and subsequently Webb expressed his desire to retain his squad and have another crack at the championship, but he accepts this is a tough challenge.

“One or two lads excelled week in, week out last season and that draws in attention,” said the Elms chief.

“I was under no illusions that the challenge would be to keep the group together. I knew the phone would ring for certain players and that they may go.

“But I’ve said all along that if I can bring good players into the football club and we can work with them and make them better, and promote them like we did with James Guthrie, who moved to Chippenham Town last season, then we can’t do any more, because we’re playing in the Hellenic Prem.

“I’d love to keep those players but realistically we haven’t got the big money to keep them.”

Although he has not spoken to either recently, Webb conceded that he expected both Bohane and Bennett to be playing away from the Elms come August, and while he supported the former’s move up the ladder, he felt the latter would be wasting his talent with a switch to Toolstation Western League Division One football.

“If I lose a player to a higher-level club then I’d never criticise that, because as a player you have to be as ambitious as you can, he said.

“But if you’re looking to drop down a level then I don’t see that as being a good move.

“Devizes have a lot more money than I can afford to pay Bennett, but I don’t think they are playing at the same level of football.

“I’m disappointed with that because I’d have thought he’d rather have plied his trade with a club that’s been there for him for two seasons.”

But the Highworth manager added he would be happy to accommodate either player should they wish to return, saying: “The door’s never shut on anybody.”

Tags: News | Highworth Town

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