THE revolving door is working overtime at Stainton Park as Radcliffe Boro manager Kevin Glendon plots his side's course for promotion next season.

Former Sunderland, Burnley and Bury defender Gordon Armstrong has signed from Conference outfit Accrington Stanley but long-serving Tony Whealing is set for a move to Stalybridge Celtic.

The signing of 36-year-old Armstrong is a major coup for Glendon and brings to an end his long search for an experienced centre-half to partner young talent Davey Luker.

Glendon enthused: "I have been looking to bring in an experienced defender for a long time now and players with Gordon's experience and quality don't become available very often.

"At 36 years of age, and still fit enough for at least a couple of seasons at this level, he brings with him the knowhow which I hope will rub off on the younger players and I am sure he will have an enormous effect on and off the pitch."

And, the boss isn't worried about snipers who point to the former FA Cup finalist's age, saying: "Gordon is a very fit lad and he certainly has the hunger because he was talking to me about promotion.

"He will bring a lot of experience to the club and if you look at the Premiership, Martin Keown was still appearing last season at the age of 37."

Armstrong brings a wealth of experience to Stainton Park and played in the 1992 FA Cup final for Sunderland when Liverpool won 2-0.

Nicknamed 'Stretch,' Armstrong also played league football with Bristol City and Northampton but his real success came with Sunderland; with whom he spent eleven years and racked up over 400 league and cup appearances.

He joined Bury from the Stadium of Light in 1996 on a free transfer and played 83 league and cup games for the Shakers playing a big part in the side that won the Second Division championship in 1997.

He then moved to Burnley with former Shakers boss Stan Ternent before signing for Stanley at the start of last season.

Meanwhile, should former Blackburn stopper Whealing agree terms on a move to the Conference North with Celtic, Boro hope to see ex-Leigh RMI midfielder Andy Heald move in the opposite direction.

"I will be sad to see Tony go but he wants to leave," explained Glendon.

"He feels he has gone stale and wasn't happy with his level of performance last season. He thinks a move will revitalise him and, if he does go, we have to thank him for giving us five years of fantastic service."

However, the potential signing of Heald excites the manager. He said: "Andy is only 23 and more attacking player than Tony.

"I don't think any side in the division will have a better clutch of signings than ours (Lee Duffy, Phil Denney and Armstrong) so we have to be confident for next season."

Looking ahead to pre-season, the return of fans favourite Jody Banim and his Shrewsbury team-mates has been fixed for Saturday July, 10.

And, fans can take advantage of a special ticketing offer for the four home friendlies.

Supporters can take up the offer of paying just £25 for an entrance pass for the four friendly games against Shrewsbury Town, Bury, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United.

This represents a saving of £9.

However, if you become a lifeline member of the club for the forthcoming season you can attend all these pre-season games free of charge.

For further details of the above offers contact Kevin or David Murgatroyd at the club on 0161-724-8346.