FAREHAM Town's joy at signing marksman Jamie Laidlaw has by diluted by news that chairman Bob Ralls is seriously ill.

Ralls, who has been chairman at Cams Alders since the Ralls Building Group took over the club in April 2001, was taken poorly last week while on holiday and is being cared for in hospital in Jersey.

"He hadn't been well last year and we're all a bit concerned about him," reported manager Louis Savage. "He's been a brilliant chairman and he's gone another step by letting us bring Jamie Laidlaw to the club. We're all hoping he'll be okay."

Ralls's illness has wiped the sheen off an otherwise satisfying summer for Savage, who feels Laidlaw could be the missing piece in the jig-saw as Town push for promotion from the Sydenhams Premier.

The 28-year-old striker has a proven Wessex pedigree having scored goals galore for Winchester City and Gosport Borough over the past two seasons. He left Gosport six weeks ago having dragged his heels over agreeing new terms with manager Alex Pike. In the meantime, Pike went out and signed Stuart Findlay from Bemerton and James Thornby from BAT and then revised his offer to Laidlaw.

Laidlaw will be joined at Cams Alders by his dad, Joe, the ex-Portsmouth skipper, who is helping Savage out on the coaching side for three months while Dutchie Holland is away in America.

Fareham have also welcomed goalkeeper Lee Webber back to the club after a spell with Eastleigh and both Darren Robson, the ex-Gosport Borough captain, and Steve Leigh, last year's Newport IoW player-boss, have been invited for pre-season training.

"Jamie and Lee have both signed, but I haven't offered anything to the other two yet," said Savage. "We had quite a strong squad in any case, but I thought we needed a scorer to go with Warren Hunt and hopefully Jamie is that. Graham Gillman also did well up front for us towards the end of last season."

Savage added: "This season will be my third year in charge and I always said it would take three years to get it right. We've got a good chance this time and we should be there or there abouts if not, I'm doing something wrong!"