POOLE Town have hit another brick wall in their bid to tempt Brockenhurst skipper Mark Barker away from Grigg Lane.

Having turned down the Dolphins during the summer – along with long-time suitors Salisbury – left winger Barker has again resisted Poole’s offer to test the waters in the Vanarama National League South.

Barker was on the scoresheet as Brock bounced back from behind to win 4-1 at Verwood Town on Saturday, putting them fourth in the Sydenhams Premier Division. It hoisted his tally to seven league goals.

Manager Pat McManus had a call from Poole’s head coach Callum Brooks this morning but, when he informed Southampton-based Barker, the wanted wideman yet again showed no interest in leaving the Badgers.

“Poole wanted Mark to go down and train with them, see how he felt and see if he wanted to get involved,” said McManus.

“I told them I’d put that in front of Mark and ask him to speak to them, but he didn’t want to.

“I’m always getting enquiries about Mark and everything that’s offered I put in front of him, but he’s a firm believer that he’s playing as well as he is because he loves the environment.

“He’s happy at Brock and it suits him to be here. We’ll go with what he wants to do.

“If he wants to stay, he can, but we wouldn’t try to dissuade him from moving up the pyramid.

“If at any point he thought it was the right thing for him, he would go with our blessing.

“Mark’s somewhere near his best this season. Seven league goals is not bad for someone who plays wide left. If he stays injury-free, he’ll score.”

Despite carving out some good opportunities, Brock trailed to a James Bergin goal at half-time at Verwood.

Second half they were much improved and, once Mitchell Speechley-Price and Barker had turned the scoreline on its head, it was plain sailing.

“Two early goals settled everyone down and it was pretty much one-way traffic,” McManus reported.

“Ollie Griggs scored a good third goal and Ronan Moore, a defender we signed from Bashley last season, got the fourth.

“We’re playing well and the most positive thing this season is the strength of the squad.

“Joe Chamberlain and goalkeeper Callum Maher were away and Ryan Long’s been away too. They’re three important players for us but we haven’t lost since they’ve been out of the side.

“This season we’re able to put in like-for-like, whereas last year we were asking players to play out of position.”

The Badgers return to action on Wednesday, away to Weymouth Reserves in the Sydenhams League Cup first round.