SWANAGE Town & Herston boss Tim Brown pinched two players from Purbeck rivals Wareham and then set his sights on promotion.

Centre-half Dave Best and full-back Matt Beard have both opted to ply their trades on the other side of Corfe Castle with Brown also snapping up Joe Clarke, a winger who recently moved to the area from London.

"I'm not sure it has gone down to well, Dave is very well thought of down there, as is Matt, but they are a good signings for us," said Brown.

"Alongside Joe, we hope they can push us on and take us up the league because the talk between the management team and players is about the top three and promotion."

Although Swans tailed off towards the end of last season's Dorset Premier League campaign, Brown still takes confidence from an eight-match winning run shortly after his appointment in September.

"We want to get back in the Wessex League," he added. "I think we belong there, we have the potential, the team is there to do it and I think we can.

"That run gave us a lot of belief and we have improved the squad so why shouldn't we be aiming high?"

One player who will not be leading the charge is goalkeeper Nick Taylor. He is set to depart due to work commitments but Brown believes the Swans "are well blessed in that department".

He added: "We have Graeme Rose and Richard Best to come back in, that will improve us."