Former Magpie Clunan feels Ryman North Dereham Town are on the up

Midfielder Michael Clunan believes Dereham Town have the right tools in place to make their own move up the non-league ladder, writes Gavin Caney.

The playmaker departed Aldiss Park this summer to join higher-level King's Lynn Town. But the former Magpie feels it won't be long before Matt Henman's side will also be plying their trade alongside him at Step Three.

'Dereham are a great club and I really enjoyed my time there,' said the former Norwich City youngster, who arrived at Aldiss Park from Lowestoft Town in August.

'But I'm still a young lad and I need to be playing as high as I can. When Setch (Gary Setchell, Lynn boss) came along and offered me a position here, I couldn't really turn it down. That's the reason why I joined, just to play a higher level of football.

'I definitely think Dereham can get up to Lynn's level (one above) in the near future though. They've got a great set of coaches and lads who all work hard so there's no reason the club can't progress.'

While the Magpies went close to going up last term – they finished seventh in Ryman North – the Linnets were dangerously close to dropping back down to the same tier. They avoided relegation – thanks mainly to a fine first half of the campaign – and Clunan is keen to improve the fortunes of his hometown Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division outfit.

'They (Lynn) sort of managed to scrape through last season,' added the 21-year-old.

'It's a fresh season and anything can happen now. We'll be looking to finish as high as we can. I've always been a Lynn lad, so it's nice to come back and actually play for the team.'

While Clunan begins his pre-season at Harlow, Dereham kickstart their own plans to get ready for the big kick-off by playing St Ives on Neatherd High School's 3G pitch on Saturday (2pm). On Tuesday, they host Norwich City Under-21s (7.45pm) at Aldiss Park. Admission for the latter is £6 for adults, £4 concessions and £2 under-14s.