AT LAST THE NUTS & BOLTS ARE ALL IN PLACE

GARY Alexander believes his summer transfer business proves people are starting to take Ashford United seriously.

The former Millwall striker took over as manager at the end of last season and quickly set about reshaping his squad for a crack at promotion in Bostik South East.

Alexander joined the club as Jason Whitmore’s assistant in January after leaving rivals Greenwich Borough.

Newly-promoted Ashford struggled badly last season, conceding 111 goals and not winning away from home until the final week of the season.

But 38-year-old Alexander is determined to bring the good times back to Homelands.

He’s brought in Cray Wanderers captain Lea Dawson and goalkeeper Sam Mott, who won Bostik North with Hornchurch last season.

Ollie Rowe, Antonio Simeone, Tom Carlse and Josh Wisson also arrive with a good track record at this level but Alexander admitted his negotiations have been far from straightforward.

“It’s never easy to attract players down to Ashford,” he said. “Sometimes you have to travel a fair way so we’ve had to work out where people are coming from.

“We’re competing against clubs who are more central, which people will obviously favour. But people are taking us seriously and hopefully, come the start of the season, we can be competitive. I’m very happy with the business we’ve done.”

This will only be the Nuts & Bolts’ second season back at Step 4 after a seven-year absence. Their best finish at this level was seventh in 2008-09 and, a decade on, Alexander wants them competing at the top end again.

He said: “We’ve looked at characters. Football’s a small world, people know people so it’s not just about going to meet the person.

“I do loads of homework on what sort of character a person is. You don’t want bad eggs in and around the building so you’ve got to make sure you’re bringing in good characters and I think ours are pretty good.

“I’ve worked with a few of them before and I think I’ve put together a good bunch.”