Burscough FC striker Darren Byers rejects move to Colwyn Bay

Jan 14 2010 by Philip Kirkbride, Ormskirk Advertiser

DARREN BYERS has given Burscough a New Year’s boost by rejecting a move to Colwyn Bay.

The Linnets’ striker, signed from Prescot Cables in the summer, is the latest Victoria Park player to be the subject of a transfer bid from a fellow UniBond side and follows Jonathan Goulding’s departure to Marine late last week.

Manager Gray admits he was at pains to see on of the longest serving members of the Greens’ squad leave for the Mariners but was buoyed by the act of loyalty shown by seven goal Byers.

Gray said: “Darren Byers has rejected an offer to go to Colwyn Bay. If he had left it would have been a real blow but I spoke to Darren and he says we can rest assured he will not be leaving. He says he wants to see Burscough out of the situation we are currently in and will be going nowhere. Darren is very much old school in that way and remains loyal to us.

“I never had the chance to speak to Jonathan Goulding face-to-face which was not ideal because we both didn’t want to discuss the seven days notice Marine had put on him over the phone. In the end it was an amicable split and we wish him well. I didn’t want him to go but said I fully understood his reasons for wanting to leave.

“We were having a look at a photograph from pre-season and of the 21 players in the team line-up, 14 of them have left the club - but I guess that happens and we now want the 20 lads we had a training on Saturday, to get games.”

Although Goulding, who was signed by the Linnets’ former boss Andy Mutch, has left the UniBond Premier Division side boss Gray is refusing to dwell on losing another player to a league rival.

Instead the manager was keen to look ahead to this weekend’s clash with Hucknall Town and repeating their 2-0 win picked up in August against the same opponents.