DORCHESTER Town Football Club have announced that Neil Martin has agreed terms to stay with the Magpies next season.

The long-serving defender, who has now made 366 appearances for the club over the course of nine seasons since his debut in August 2009, becomes the 16th player to sign up with The Magpies ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

Speaking after agreeing terms for another season at the club last week, Martin said: “I’m over the moon to be signing for another year - I always wanted to sign, so as soon as when Cal got in touch I wanted to get things done as quickly as possible.

“Obviously with the signings that Cal has made so far it looks positive for next season.

“I’ve been here a little while now and I’ve been lucky with injuries, so hopefully I’ve got a few more seasons left under my belt yet.

“Last season was a bit of a breath of fresh air for me playing centre half - playing in the middle of a back three as well and having that little run in the FA Trophy was good, so I enjoy playing there.

“When I was speaking to Cal about signing for the new season he said about looking at playing centre half and things like that - I said I don’t mind, I can play centre half, left back, just in front of the back four; he can play me where ever he wants, and he seemed positive that I could play in so many different positions.

“I obviously had my appendix op just when Cal first came in, so I couldn’t actually play straight away which I was a bit gutted about.

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“I’m looking forward to having a good pre-season under him, then get the season started well and go from there – so hopefully next season looks like it’s going to be positive.”

Manager Callum Brooks said: “You can tell by the way I try and recruit that it’s really important to me that the players who are part of our squad do have an affection and a feeling for the club, and that’s what you get with Neil.

“What you also get is a very experienced player - and not only does he provide experience, he also provides versatility. From my point of view, although I’ve only worked with Neil for a short amount of time, I’ve enjoyed the interactions that I’ve had with him.

“I’m really pleased that he wants to continue at the club. I can see the positive influence he has on the group and he’s going to be an important part of what we do moving forwards.”