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Hands off my full back
Story courtesy of Burton Mail
Gresley Rovers boss Frank Northwood, never a man to mince his words, last night aimed a sharp rebuff at former Derby County star Steve Powell.
Northwood believes Powell, now manager of Shepshed Charterhouse, is poised to swoop on the Moat Ground for talented defender Martin Dick.But his message to the Dovecote was: “Hands off – Martin is going nowhere.”
The alarm bells rang at Gresley earlier this week when Shepshed contacted secretary Geoff Jackson asking for a list of Rovers’ forthcoming fixtures. And Northwood suspects his former striker Paul Acklam – a close friend of Dick – may have pointed Powell in Gresley’s direction.
The pair moved from Borrowash Victoria to the Moat Ground in the close season, But Acklam made a scoring debut for Shepshed in last Saturday’s shock win at Bromsgrove after being released by Northwood.
Northwood said: “I think the boy Acklam may have marked Powell’s card and if that’s the case I’ve got news for Shepshed – we’ve got an agreement with Martin Dick that will keep him at the Moat Ground for the next two years at least. He’s a class player and the only way that we’ll even consider letting him go is if Shepshed put a lot of money on the table.”
Dick is likely to be restored to Gresley’s side at the expense of Mark Bromley tomorrow after missing their last game because his wife was having a baby.
“Northwood said: “I’ve got a lot of sympathy for Bromley because he was probably our best player in our last game, but Dick has done ever so well this season and it would be totally unfair for him to lose his place.”
