Former Linnets local heroes return to the club

King's Lynn Town have drafted in Linnets' old boys Charlie Defty and Robbie Harris to bolster the club's United Counties Premier Division promotion bid.

Harris and Defty both came through the senior ranks at The Walks under the old regime and have agreed to re-join Lynn Town for their non league return.

Versatile defender/midfielder Defty moved to Ridgeons neighbours Wisbech last summer whilst striker Harris has had spells with the Fenmen, Stamford, Mildenhall and Dereham.

'We want footballers who are good enough, who know what this level of football is all about and who we can bring in on our budget,' said joint boss Gary Setchell. 'Robbie and Charlie fit into all three categories. Charlie would probably have still been at King's Lynn anyway but the new manager who came in this time last year didn't fancy him. Charlie has always been a King's Lynn player and will be for many years to come.

'He's off to university later in the year so he will start with us and then will be in and around it during holidays and for the odd game if we need him and with Jack coming back I think supporters will appreciate having two local talents in the ranks.'

Setchell is also confident Harris can re-capture his best form at The Walks.

'Two years ago Robbie was arguably the most sought after striker in the Ridgeons,' said Setchell. 'The year he went to Mildenhall he had scored 20 odd goals by Christmas but he has had a lot of niggly injuries and moved from club to club. The lad is 25, 26 now and both myself and Kevin (Boon) think this is a great opportunity for him to play football for two or three seasons in one place and get back to where he was.

'It's up to him to show everybody he is good enough at this level and the one above. We are signing players but it's all about ifs at the minute - the real test and the real time to judge is when the competitive football starts in August. What we know is that with him, Jack and (Scott) Cubberley we have the type of strikers at UCL level any club would love.'

Setchell has warned Lynn's emerging squad the club's management have a tough pre-season planned.

'We start training June 26 which is probably a week or half a week earlier than most clubs,' he said. 'We have to get them to gel straight away because Carl Heggs came in and at the start he found it difficult with 17 odd new players on his hands. They got off to a slow start but by October were flying. I don't think we'll have that luxury because if you look at our league last year Daventry only lost once all season and St Neots only three times.

'Both Kevin and myself don't want us to be seventh or eighth in the league come September and playing catch up. We need to hit the ground running from August. We need to be the fittest team in the league because we won't have the biggest squad, but we'll be a match for anyone in the UCL.'

Lynn's reserve side will play in the UCL reserve division two for 2010/11 after the Anglian Combination rejected Lynn's bid to enter a team into their Premier Division.

The Linnets were accepted by the Anglian Combination at the league's annual meeting but would have had to begin life in division six after losing a second vote to be placed in their top tier.

'Personally I believe that everything happens for a reason,' said club chairman Keith Chapman. 'Fortunately for us the UCL have gone to extraordinary lengths to grant us acceptance into their reserve league. I cannot thank the UCL and its members enough and I'm glad they can see that our club has the potential to enhance and benefit their league.'

Lynn have landed home ties in the opening rounds of the UCL's 2010/11 Knockout Cup competitions. The first team will host either Daventry United or Bourne with the reserves at home to St Neots in the Reserve KO Cup competition.