12:03pm Tuesday 5th August 2008
By Stuart Amos
Hampton & Richmond Borough boss Alan Devonshire is pondering handing former Aston Villa trainee Stephen Cooke a career lifeline on the eve of the Blue Square South kick-off this weekend.
The 25-year-old midfielder starred in the Beavers 1-0 friendly triumph over Leatherhead on Monday, which saw new signing Ben Wright net his first goal for the club.
Devonshire, who has increased his playing staff to include a reserve team this season, is still looking to cover the loss of influential midfield man Francis Quarm - who misses the start of the season with an ankle injury.
And Cooke, who has trialled with home-town club Walsall this summer and has Football League experience with Bournemouth and Wycombe Wanderers, could be the man to fit the bill.
“He is a good player and I know he was highly-rated when he was a youngster at Villa. This is all about getting his career back on track,” he said.
“There is a chance we might sign him, but it is still up in the air at the moment. He will be commuting from the Midlands, but he is happy to do that for first team football.”
New striker Nana Badu is yet to complete 90 minutes for his new club since switching from Walton Casuals in the summer and was absent for the clash with Leatherhead.
But Devonshire admits he was never going to feature in his early season plans.
“He has been on holiday for the last couple of weeks, but because of his past knee problems I knew he was going to miss the start of the season,” he added.
“He hasn’t found his full match fitness or sharpness yet and it will be a little while before he makes a start for us.”
Hampton secured a play-off final berth in their first season at Blue Square South level last time out, but have seen a host of key players - such as Alan Inns, Elliott Godfrey and Kelvin MacIntosh - move on this summer.
And, despite last year’s success, the Beveree chief insists his players starts with a blank canvass with only the target of reaching the 50 point safety mark on their minds when they travel to Basingstoke Town on Saturday.
“You are always apprehensive at the start of a new season because you never know how the new players are going to shape up,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter how long you have been a league, the quality of it changes year-on-year.
“We are in a better position as a club than we were this time last year and we’ve had a decent pre-season, but that counts for nothing when the season starts.
“It is important we get a good start and go from there.”
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