WEYMOUTH manager Mark Molesley is planning to use his “strong bonds” with AFC Bournemouth to good effect this summer.
Molesley played 60 times for the Cherries as a player and was a key figure in their ‘Great Escape’ of 2009, scoring a critical late winner at Dagenham & Redbridge in the process.
In his first stint as Weymouth boss, Molesley used his connections to Bournemouth’s under-21s squad to bring in the likes of goalkeeper Mark Travers, striker Jaidon Anthony and centre-back Sam Sherring.
He also helped secure the services of released Bournemouth players such as Jake McCarthy, Ollie Harfield and Callum Buckley, all key in Molesley’s era of back-to-back promotions.
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Asked whether he would be keen to call upon his ties to Bournemouth once more, Molesley said: “I’d like to think so, it’s a fantastic football club.
“You’ve got to make sure you keep strong bonds with your local clubs, especially one so high up, to benefit from it.
“Also, those players benefitted from it as well so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right environment where these players can come in and thrive and hopefully get into their club’s first team.
“So, it’s certainly a relationship that served us well last time and it’s certainly a relationship we want to get back on board, as with other clubs in and around the area.
“We’ve had great success with some of the loan players coming in. It wasn’t just the players that went on and did great things, Weymouth saw some fantastic players.
“Also, those players really enjoyed their time here and had a valuable experience which stands them in good stead.
“I could reel off 10 names that are playing higher up in the league, some have even had international honours.
“They’ll look back and say that time at Weymouth was a real good stepping stone and learning curve for them.”
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