Reluctant Blues cash in

Frickley Athletic signed Andrew McCormick on a one month’s loan from League One side Doncaster Rovers ahead of today’s opener at Hednesford but manager Karl Rose admitted yesterday he was sorry to see Kelvin Bleau finally leave for Stalybridge Celtic.

The Blues say negotiations for the former Bradford City defender had been ongoing with the Conference North club before a deal was struck to enable the transfer to go ahead for an initial four-figure fee plus add-ons.

Rose was disappointed to lose Bleau who would have been an important part of the side for the coming Evo-Stik NPL campaign but didn’t stand in his way once the player had made his mind up.

Chairman Gareth Dando said the deal was in the best interests of both the player and club and wished Bleau well. "We’ve made it clear to Kelvin over the past few weeks that we wanted to keep him at the club and play a major role this season," he said. "However, he wanted the opportunity to play full-time at a higher level and so we’ve agreed a deal with Stalybridge and Kelvin goes with our best wishes."

McCormick, an 18-year-old midfielder, is a first year professional at Rovers having come through the Rovers' youth set-up.

Tom Woodhead has also signed for the Blues, the keeper joining from Brigg Town with the club revealing that Ben Scott is likely to be unavailable due to work commitments.

Frickley say three young stars of the future have also all put pen to paper this week, 16-year-olds Reece Fennell, Joe Davies and Joe Kenny, who were with the club’s U19s last season, all signing contracts.