HAVANT & Waterlooville have thrown down the gauntlet to ambitious south coast rivals Eastleigh by unveiling their first summer signing and announcing a massive sponsorship deal with brewing giants Carlsberg.

Having narrowly missed out on the Conference South play-offs last season, manager Ian Baird will be bolstering his squad with four experienced Conference campaigners and has started the ball rolling with versatile left-sided player Justin Gregory from Stevenage Borough.

Gregory, who has also played for Farnborough and Crawley Town, is based in Brighton and is doing a three-year degree course at Chichester University Arguably, the Carlsberg deal is an even bigger coup for the Westleigh Park club, with the brewers investing a six-figure sum over the next three years.

"It's probably one of the largest ever sponsorship deals in non-League football. I haven't heard of anything bigger," said Hawks secretary Trevor Brock.

"It dwarfs anything we've had before and proves it's not just Eastleigh who can get good sponsorships," he smiled. "Last season's sponsors TW Clarke are also staying with us and will spend a five-figure sum on ground advertising."

As a result of the sponsorship, Havant's clubhouse will be given a total facelift over the summer and former Hampshire cricketer Adie Aymes, Hawks' first-team fitness coach, has been appointed general manager, in charge of the ground and bars.

"This money is not going to be spent on footballers," said Brock. "The club lost a six-figure sum last season, leaving the directors to fund it, so we want to address that by having a full-time presence at the club and keeping it open during the day to bring more money in.

There will be lots of spin-offs from the sponsorship, starting with the World Cup when we're selling Carlsberg for £1.25 a pint with a free curry. We've already put big plasma screens up."

A spokesman for Carlsberg UK said: "We hope our partnership will give the club the impetus to gain promotion as soon as possible. We believe the Hawks have tremendous potential."

More good news for Havant is that Rocky Baptiste, top scorer with 30 goals last season, has finally penned a new contract.

On the debit side, ex-Pompey defender Robbie Pethick has retired, Guy Lopez Dacruz has been released and Jordan Fowler has been retained on option but is unsure about staying after landing a job in Chelmsford.

Promising young pair Sam Pearce and Byron Harrison have been advised to play Ryman or Southern League football for a year.

Hawks kick off their pre-season programme at home to AFC Bournemouth on July 8 (2pm) and other definite dates are St Albans (home, August 1, 7.45) and Grays Athletic (home, August 4, 7.45).