BOSS Ollie Cherrett defended Merley’s handling of Luke Stone’s signing from rivals Hamworthy Recreation and then congratulated his adversaries on their title success.

Opposite number Keith Whatling hit out at the manner Merley revealed their signing of Rec hotshot Stone back in October after his side had lifted the Dorset Premier League crown.

Whatling said: “The way the other team behaved made us more determined to see it through.

“The way they did things on social media was embarrassing to be honest and it really wound up a lot of the lads.”

But Cherrett, whose side went on to finish third behind Portland United, played down the comments and was adamant there had been nothing unusual in the way he had greeted his new acquisition.

Cherrett told the Daily Echo: “First and foremost, I would like to say that Ham Rec were the best team across the season and the league table showed that.

“Congratulations to them and we are looking forward to competing against them again next season.

“With regard to Luke, we followed the league’s rules and, like a lot of clubs, posted a picture of our new player in the same way we did for all of our signings.”