Robins clinch striking duo

Ilkeston's Kevin Wilson has clinched the signing of strikers Jordan Smith and Dereece Gardner and narrowly failed to complete a hat-trick of signings.

Wilson had been hoping to finalise a deal for a central defender and admitted on the club's website to being 'very disappointed' that it didn’t go through.

But he believes the the arrival of Smith, a 24-year old proven goalscorer from Stamford AFC, and Gardner, a promising 18-year-old, is a major boost for the Robins.

Smith was unavailable for Saturday's FA Cup win over Gresley FC but Gardner, a former Aston Villa and Watford youngster who has just completed a trial spell with Stoke City, came on as a late substitute in the 4-2 victory.

Wilson said: "Jordan is strong and powerful - he’s not nicknamed ‘The Bull’ for nothing. He’s a player that I’ve tracked for some time, going back to his days with Redditch United and King’s Lynn, and I’m delighted to have him on board.

"We’ve lost too many games by the odd goal already this season and the fact of the matter is that we haven’t scored enough goals. Something had to be done about that and I believe Jordan can do well with us.

"He scored fifteen times last season for Corby in the Blue Square Bet North before moving to Stamford in the summer, and will also offer us good pace up front - a quality that we don’t have in abundance."

"As for Dereece, he was recommended to us by Dalian Atkinson, who I played with at Ipswich. We had the boy over to work with us, liked what we saw and offered him the chance to join us."