LAST season should have been the most enjoyable of Craig Davis's non-League career.

But the thrill of winning the Southern Premier title with Salisbury City was lost on the 24-year-old who, come the end of Whites' glittering campaign, was not even featuring on the bench.

Now the highly-rated Chandler's Ford-based midfielder, for whom Whites splashed out £15,000 to Bashley in November 2003, is on the lookout for a new club after being transfer-listed by mutual consent.

"I played almost every game last season until the last ten, but then we had a bad spell and any one of 11 of us could have been chopped," he said. "Scapegoat is not the right word, but I was the person they wanted to change. Then they signed Luke Prince and he did really well.

"I understand why they did it and I can't knock the success the club have had but, from a selfish point of view, I want to be playing regular football in the position I prefer."

Davis is convinced it was Salisbury's change of system that proved his undoing.

At Bashley he was revered as an energetic box-to-box midfielder with a huge appetite for goals.

Initially he filled that role for Salisbury, but it all changed when they switched to 4-4-2.

"I was signed as an attacking midfielder and had scored loads of goals for Bashley, but when Salisbury went to a 4-4-2 they wanted two sitters in midfield to hold the ball a bit more," he said.

"They started playing me on the right because they knew I could deliver a good ball, but I haven't been at all happy there and my career has stalled because I haven't been able to play to my strengths.

"Just before I signed for Salisbury, I scored a hat-trick for Bashley against Eastleigh, which was one of my favourite games, but I can't do that from out wide, especially with the way Salisbury play.

They like to get it forward to Salesy (Paul Sales), and I can understand that because he's a class apart, but it bypasses what I want to be doing."

Although Eastleigh are believed to have shown an interest in Davis, they have now concluded their pre-season signings and the player's biggest fear is that the transfer fee will put people off.

His old club Bashley would have been another possibility, but they have just signed attacking midfielder Gareth Keeping from Dorchester.

"There are teams in the Conference South I'd go to, but the PFA list has loads of lads going for free out of the pro game. It doesn't leave a lot of options," said Davis.

"I wouldn't rule anything out or anything in and I'd have no problem dropping down a level as long as I went to an ambitious club who are not just happy to stay in the league they're in."

Five other players have been released by Salisbury Michael Cooper, Ian Richardson, Simon Arthur, Adam Heath and Chris Ferrett, who has rejoined Bashley.

Winger Adam Wilde, meanwhile, has signed for Conference National newcomers St Albans City.