NEIL Hards has laughed off rumours that he has spoken to Gosport Borough about their vacant manager's job.

But the Winchester City boss says he wouldn't turn down talks at Privett Park if the opportunity arose.

As reported in last Friday's Daily Echo, Hards remains totally open-minded about his future with the FA Vase holders and revealed: "I have already spoken to two clubs about next season, but neither of them was Gosport.

"But I'd speak to them or anyone else came in for me because I'm under no contractual obligations with Winchester."

Hards,though, says that if he did decide his future lay elsewhere, he wouldn't just up and leave Winchester without warning.

"All along I've said I will see the season out with them and that hasn't changed. I'm there to do a job," he said. "My priority, along with the players, has always been to try and get Ryman League football and we will play the season out and hopefully win the Wessex League and Hampshire Senior Cup.

"I know my name's being bandied around for the Gosport job and I've no idea where that came from. But football's full of rumours. Someone rang me the other week to say Ian Mancey and Jamie Laidlaw had left us, which was news to me. They'd been training the night before!"

Having become a dad for the second time in less than two years on Monday, 43-year-old Hards isn't even sure he will have time for football next season.

He said: "With one son of 19 months and another new born, I've got my family to think of. Football's a hobby, not a full-time occupation and if I didn't feel I could put enough into it, I wouldn't do it. I might give it up all together, who knows, or Winchester might decide to sack me.

"People can speculate as much as they want, but if I don't know what's going to happen I'm sure no one else does."

In between changing nappies, Hards has the small matter of Saturday's huge top-of-the-table clash at home to Lymington & New Milton to focus on.

Winchester now trail the Foresters by three points at the top after Saturday's shock 2-1 defeat at Hamworthy United and Hards said: "If we lose on Saturday, we can kiss the league goodbye."