"It appears the non-league ‘merry-go-round’ is in full swing at the moment! There have been quite a few comings and going at the club in the past few weeks so I felt it important to communicate with and update supporters on the current squad situation.

First off, we all want a settled squad with very little turnover of players- I’ve always thought this kind of stability is the best chance of success. Having said that, when myself and Matt rebuilt the entire playing squad over the summer with 16 new faces, only Ben Rhodes, Ben Algar and Curtis Burrows remained from last season. Despite the best of intentions and the hope that everything would fit perfectly first time round, it was inevitable that we would have teething problems and find elements we weren’t completely happy with where we didn’t feel the balance was right. This has led to us shifting probably 2 players on.

On top of this, with the quality of players we have in the squad, if lads aren’t starting every week, they get interest from elsewhere. Unfortunately, I can only pick 11 so of course there is always going to be players not starting and especially with the traveling in this East Division, it makes it a challenge to keep everybody happy. On the flip side, I have been as disappointed as a lot of supporters to see a couple of individuals leave at, what appears to be, the mere sight of a little bit of competition! Although players leaving can rock the boat short term, recruitment is a strong point of ours and we don’t need players at the club who are not committed, therefore I never see players departing as an issue, I see it more as an opportunity to fine tune things and in a lot of cases so far, improve. ‘When one door closes, another one opens’ mentality.

So, in terms of departures:

Ant Mackie has decided to play a lower level to ensure more game time after struggling with an injury in the early part of the season. We wish him all the best.

Ben Algar decided to retire having recently had another baby and a lot of work commitments. Ben is a great lad and remains registered with the club and will help us out from time to time if we need him, as he did vs Hebburn recently.

Jonathan Hedge recently departed. I decided to bring in some competition in the #1 spot which also coincided with Hedgey informing me that he’s struggling with patella tendonitis in his knee and he felt he needed to get that sorted to get back to his best. A good leader in the dressing room who we wish all the best.

Alex Troke I was sad to lose, but completely understood his situation. He had remained patient for most of the season up until the 15th (ish) game mark and ultimately due to limited opportunities he wanted to move on. I respected that and his professionalism throughout his time here.

Cam Johnson had a 7 day approach from Sheffield FC and informed us that for family/personal reasons he wanted to take up the offer.

Rev James We also had a 7 day approach for Rev from his former club Basford. Despite 14 starts and only 1 substitute appearance, Rev informed me he wasn’t getting the game time he needed and therefore wished to leave.

Luke Martin was duel registered with Long Eaton United in return for Keiran Walker coming the other way. A move that suited all parties in terms of what each club needed.

Finally, Adam Bessadi is still signed with the club but I am personally trying to help him get a move closer to home. He lives in Leicester and the travelling in this league is getting too much for him especially as he is having to do it all by train. Love this lad to bits and he loves the lads and the club so I am sad he may be leaving us but again he has shown total commitment so I have no problems working to get him something sorted.

So, as you can see from the above, there has been no ruthless culling and each and every player has left for different reasons. We have to be proactive and make sure we move quickly to replace people and that is what we have done. We can’t let the grass grow under our feet. So as you will have seen in recent weeks we have brought in Zak Goodson, Brodie Litchfield, Sidik Atcha and David Gbehe (recent addition- a winger/10 from Stratford Town) as permanent signings. We also have Josh Ashman on loan from Guiseley who has done really well and we will see what happens there with extensions etc.

Finally, those who are eagle eyed will have seen Dan Moore in goal for us on Saturday. Due to some personal circumstances, Jason Alexander may be unavailable for some time and we worked hard to get Dan in at short notice. Initially, this was a short term fix for Saturday but we are currently in discussions to see if we can make it permanent and we will update in due course.

So, (again) we are now happy with the squad and barring any sudden departures we are hoping for a settled time in the coming months- however (again!) we will be ready to act should somebody decide to leave the club. There is potentially only 1 position where we are looking at bringing a player in, but it won’t involve someone having to leave the club."