Ashley Vickers

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Magpies miss out on Gilroy

by Ky Capel

Dorchester Town have lost out in the race to sign former Bath City striker Dave Gilroy.

Magpies’ boss Ashley Vickers thought he had done enough to persuade the 27-year-old to join the county town outfit.

However, Blue Square Bet South rivals Woking made their move and Gilroy opted for the Cards instead.

Vickers said: “We went to see him and offered him a good deal for us. We then spoke to him again, outlining our ambitions for the season, he came back to us and agreed to the offer.

“But within 20 minutes or so, Woking blew our offer out of the water and offered more than we can afford.

“Dave took some time to think about it and decided to sign for Woking. He is an excellent player and I thought we had him, so I went from being over the moon to the complete opposite as I felt he would have been a great addition.

“I wish him well as he is a great lad and he conducted himself properly throughout.”

With Ryan Moss, Matt Groves and Dave Allen already signed up for next season’s assault, Vickers is keen to add to his frontline arsenal, with ex-Weymouth forward Stuart Douglas a potential new signing.

The Dorchester manager added: “I will speak to him again but we’re still a little bit apart in terms of wages.

“We do need more competition up top but having said that we’ve still got Sam Charles and Warren Byerley and in pre-season we’ll see if they can produce.”

Vickers spent last weekend at the home of English football, watching his former side Dagenham & Redbridge, and ex-Magpie Phil Walsh, clinch promotion to League One.

He said: “I was invited up to the game and it was a great day. Seeing what Dagenham have achieved, and Blackpool as well, bodes well for teams like us as they have a real team belief about them.”

The Magpies’ pre-season friendly with AFC Bourne-mouth, at the Avenue Stadium, has been arranged for Saturday, July 31. The fixture with a Portsmouth XI has been put on hold while trips to Wimborne Town and Poole Town are expected to be announced in due course.

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