UNIBOND Premier Champions Altrincham have signed Stalybride Celtic striker Brendan Burke, as manager Bernard Taylor and assistant Graham Heathcote gather together a squad worthy of the challenge that faces them.

As we all know, Unibond football is a thing of the past at Moss Lane, and the more players with conference experience such as Burke, the better.

Burke started his career at Manchester United but became revelation in non-league football , firstly with Mossley and then with Witton Albion.

It took a then club record fee of £12,000 for Stalybridge to acquire his talents in December 1994.

Disappointed to be overlooked by England, Burke made his services available to the Republic of Ireland in 1996.

The Stalybridge captain, who lifted the Unibond league Challenge cup last season, comes to Moss Lane under the Bosman ruling, as his contract at Bower Fold has run out at the end of last season, and there is a signing-on fee involved.

Taylor said, "Brendan is a great player, and this is a good signing for the club.

"He's a superb goalscorer and a hard worker too. He can play up front or on the right, and Conference football won't be too much of a step-up for him."

He added, "I'm really looking forward to working with him."

Another player who has commenced training with Alty is the vastly experienced winger Tony Hemmings from Gloucester City.

Hemmings has not signed for the club yet, but as Taylor says, "We're having a look at him and he's having a look at us."

Tony began his career with Burton Albion in 1985, and moved to Rocester after four years.

After a year there, he moved to Northwich Victoria before joining Martin O'Neill's Wycombe Wanderers in September 1993, in exchange for a £35,000 fee.

He went on to play 36 times for them before returning to the conference with Macclesfield in 1995.

He starred for the Silkmen in the 1996 FA Trophy final defeat of Northwich, scoring their third goal.

Prior to his move to Wycombe, Tony gained one England semi-professional cap against Finland in 1993.

The list of players which have been released by Altrincham is due out this week, and that may present a clearer picture as to their plans for the squad.

According to the Robins round-up, Taylor is also looking at a striker and a midfielder from the Unibond league and a central defender from the Nationwide league.

Watch this space for any transfer developments!

One of the most shocking developments to come from the Nationwide Conference AGM which was held last weekend was the revelation that Barrow, promoted from the Unibond in1998, hace been forced to withdraw from the league, as they are unable to guarantee they will fulfil their fixtures next season.

This means an eleventh-hour reprieve for Welling United, who had been relegated from the conference.

Other news from the meeting is that teams will be allowed to pick three subs out of a possible five for league games, and the conference clubs will be exempt from the FA cup until the fourth qualifying round.

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