STAR striker Ryan Dovell has rocked the Bees by expressing a desire to “try his luck” at Dorchester Town.

Bridport boss Trevor Senior is understandably disappointed by the news but has also made it clear that the door will be left open for the 30 year-old to return if things at the Avenue Stadium fail to work out.

The Bees’ boss said: “Ryan contacted me last week and said he had given it a lot of thought and now he is 30, he wants to try his luck at Dorchester by doing pre-season there, and there was nothing I could really say back to that.

“Obviously I do not want to lose him but there is nothing we can really do as he is adamant he wants to stake a claim there.

“I just hope he does not go to Dorchester only to be a squad player and play midweek football in the reserve league and I hope he is thinking along those lines as well.

“I have told him the door is not closed here and I will continue to assess his situation throughout pre-season.”

Bridport returned to pre-season training last night where ex-Weymouth striker Sam Charles was expected to make a welcome appearance alongside fellow forward Matty Moors.

Senior added: “Ryan scored over 20 goals last season, which is a massive chunk to take out of the team. However, it gives Sam and Matty a chance to stake their claim in pre-season to become the first-choice front two.

“Sam had a good spell on loan with us last season and Matty is back from injury, so we shall have a good look at them over the next few weeks and see where we go from there.”

Several trialists were also scheduled to take part in yesterday’s session, including Gary McAuley, who is bidding to seal a permanent return to the club as a player, following his departure from Willand Rovers where he enjoyed a spell as player/assistant-manager.