Bashley player-boss Steve Riley has pledged that keeping striker Richard Gillespie will be top of his priority list.

Rumours are rife in the New Forest that the 25-goal hitman will be on his way when his contract expires this summer.

But, though Riley appreciates the 21-year-old's desire to test himself at a higher level, he feels that happiness and playing regular football should be key factors in his decision.

In his younger days Navyman Riley had offers himself to play at a higher level but he turned them down.

He reflected: "I had a chance earlier in my career of moving into the Conference but I didn't take it purely because of the commitment and the fact that I was happy at the clubs I played for.

"Sometimes I wish I could have tested myself higher up but the most important thing is enjoying your football.

"Gilly's a quiet lad, but what happens if he goes somewhere, doesn't figure and ends up sitting on the bench? He's got to be somewhere where he's happy, but if there are demands made of him, it could go one of two ways. Other teams may play differently and that might not suit Gilly's game. He tried it at Salisbury for a while last season and it didn't work out.

"Gilly knows where the goal is, but he's only 21 and I still think he's got a bit to learn. If we can keep the majority of our players together at Bashley, I think he would learn quite a bit here."

Riley, though, would not dream of standing in Gillespie's way if the Romsey lad's heart is set on climbing the pyramid.

"If he does make a move he needs to think it out and make sure it's the right one," he said.

"But Bashley are still in pole position, bearing in mind that we've got him already, and I'm going to do my best to get him tied down for another season. I know he's ambitious and I wouldn't want to stand in his way, but I don't want to lose him either."

With just two games to go, Bash are still in with a mathematical chance of making the Ryman 1 play-offs, but it's looking unlikely.

"There are four points in it, which means we've got to win both our games (home to Corinthian Casuals tomorrow and away to Horsham next Saturday) and hope the teams around us lose both theirs," said Riley.

Bash will need to check the fitness of Mark Preston (Achilles) and Dave Wakefield (jarred knee), but Riley is hopeful of returning from hamstring trouble.