Bognor Regis Town boss hails strike pair – as Chadwick and Ademokun join

Chebby, who recently signed for the Rocks from Horndean, grabbed his first Isthmian South Central division goal in a 2-1 win at Binfield last Saturday to leave Howell’s men in 11th position in the standings.

And Howell admits he was impressed with his link up play with Laycock and that he hopes for more of the same from the duo when his side host AFC Portchester at Chichester City’s Oaklands Park this Saturday.

See Binfield v Rocks in pictures here.

Bognor are in a fine run of form which is a far cry from the opening skirmishes of the league campaign that saw them slump to a perilous position of second from the bottom in the table.

Rocks new 3G pitch is almost finished – picture gallery by Trevor Staff.

But even though the Rocks are buoyant, Howell is convinced that their target should be maintaining their position in the division. He said: “It was an impressive victory and we are delighted we got the win at Binfield. A play-off place? I’m not so sure to be honest. I think the main objective is to get another 20 points or so that we need to get to safety, then we know that we are staying in the division, that is definitely the target first and foremost. Anything else would be a bonus.

“We have to consider the injuries that we have sustained and the players we have out and we may even have to think about bringing in a couple of more players but we will see how that works out.

“It was good for Chebby to get his opening league goal and I’m not surprised because we knew what he was about, we know what he brings to the table, and that’s why we signed him and I’m sure there’s more to come.

“He linked up well with Cal – they complement each other -- and we obviously hope that this can be something that we can utilise against Portchester on Saturday.

“We know they are a good side and we know their players and they have their own threats so it will be a tough game but one we are really looking forward to.

“We beat them 5-4 in the opening game of the season away from home and what a dramatic game that was! It will be close, but as I said, we are really looking forward to it and we will look to continue with the momentum we have shown of late.”

Meanwhile, Finlay Chadwick has signed for the Rocks on a dual registration deal from Worthing and will feature in Howell's plans for Saturday's game at home to AFC Portchester.

Midfielder Chadwick, 21, has trained with 11th-placed Rocks this week and is in strong contention to play against the Hampshire outfit.

He initially departed the Sussex Transport Community Stadium during the summer following the expiration of his contract and he joined Lewes. According to the Worthing website, his time at the Dripping Pan was "brief yet fruitful with a couple of goals and several commanding displays before the two parties decided to part ways last month".

Chadwick, a Bognor native, then re-joined the Rebels on non-contract terms -- now he has linked up with the Nye Camp aces.

Howell is in positive mood going into the game against Portchy – demonstrated as he provided an update to his plans for the fixture.

He said: "Finlay will hopefully play on Saturday and we are really grateful to Worthing. He needs some game time so it works well for both parties.

"He's a local lad so it's great to have him with us. Danny Hollands will hopefully return on Saturday as he is over his illness (that kept him out of the 2-1 win at Binfield last week), which is a great help.

"Soek-Jae is suspended (for picking up five bookings), which is a shame. Preston Woolston has been unwell this week but hopefully he is back. With Tommy Block, we will see how he is... so hopefully we can continue with the momentum we had last Saturday."

On Friday, the Rocks announced they had signed striker Ayomide Ademokun -- and he will be in the squad for Saturday’s game.

Ayo is a 25-year-old striker who began his career at West Ham United. He was released without making the first team and joined Nybergsund who were then playing in Norway’s second tier. He has also represented Italian clubs Policoro and Ferrandina.

Ayo was born in Lagos, Nigeria and was then raised in Ireland before moving to London. He will the first Irish/Nigerian to represent the Rocks.