Burns raids former club (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Burns raids former club

LEE Burns has raided his former club Odd Down for his first signing as Melksham manager.

Midfielder Hal Davis is set to make his debut in tomorrow's home clash with Welton Rovers and another striker and defender could soon be joining him.

Burns played for Odd Down last season and had no hesitation in snapping up Davis.

He said: "He will give us a bit more bite in midfield. I know Hal well and he is a good, honest grafter."

He added: "I've put in a couple of seven days for a forward and a defender, but I'm not saying who they are yet."

Burns had been due to make his bow as Melksham player-manager on Tuesday night at Brislington, but the game was called off after both sides had arrived. Although very disappointing he accepted the referee had made the right decision.

He said: "We were all there ready to go out onto the pitch when the ref called it off. But it was unplayable, in certain areas you just couldn't walk on it."

The postponement marked the end of Burns' first week in charge, a period he described as "very hectic".

That fixture would have seen him come up against his former Bath City boss Alan Pridham, but he is also set for another reunion on Saturday.

Burns said: "They've just parted company with their manager as well. Their new manager is Stuart Minall, who I knew when I was at Paulton Rovers.

"He is also likely to be playing so it will be good to pit my brains against his on Saturday as he is a wily old fox.

"Welton will be a totally different sort of game to Tuesday night because of their league position.

"We've got a good team spirit and we need to take that forward on Saturday. We are looking for a lot of local support to cheer us on."

Welton are second from bottom in the Premier Division, with just 12 points from 21 games and have not won an away league game all season. Their only victory in the last 13 games was a 3-0 home win over Devizes in December. But with every team below them having games in hand, Melksham cannot afford to slip up if they want to stay clear of the drop zone.

Burns expects Carl Harford to be back in the side on Saturday.

He wants to see his team in action before deciding on further changes, but whether this includes dropping himself remains to be seen.

He said: "I'm still enjoying playing, but that may change over the next couple of weeks. The good thing is that I'm still unbeaten."