MARK Lisk can't wait for the new campaign to begin after completing his move from Bashley to Salisbury City.

The 31-year-old left-sided player has finally put pen to paper for the Wiltshire side, closing the door on his second spell with the New Forest club where he made 182 appearances.

Although he will leave some good friends behind at Bashley, Lisk is relishing the prospect of joining Whites' Isthmian Premier Division baptism and working with their manager, Nick Holmes, one of Saints' 1976 FA Cup glory boys.

Lisk said: "I'm a bit young to remember the Cup final, but I know Nick by reputation. He's been there, seen it and done it in football. It was the same with Ernie Howe when I played at Basingstoke Town. He also played professionally for many years. I've got a lot of respect for people like that."

Lisk's move to Salisbury had been on the cards for months, but it was dependent on the Whites making a minor improvement on their original offer.

"They came back with something slightly better and I'm just so pleased to be there," he smiled. I've been to two training sessions so far and you can't knock Salisbury's professionalism. They've got a fantastic set-up and a great bunch of lads. The whole club's moving in the right direction.

"I've signed a one-year deal initially and Nick's promised to have another chat with me during the winter to see how I'm doing. I'm really keen to get going now."

Hythe-based Lisk returned to Bashley from Basingstoke in the summer of 2002, having been part of the Forest side that reached the second round of the FA Cup in 1995 against Swansea City.

He admitted: "I love Bashley. The people down there are smashing and I will miss them. But Salisbury's a totally different set-up and I'm really pleased to be part of it."