PAUL MULLIN went to Accrington Stanley after Radcliffe Borough received an offer they simply couldn't refuse.

Boro's top scorer last season with 22 goals had refused a move to the Crown Ground last season when Stanley came in with a £10,000 bid.

And Boro boss Kevin Glendon revealed: "For a club like ours to turn down £10,000 was ridiculous. Any other club would have snatched their hands off.

"Our chairman, Bernard Manning Junior, said Stanley were so persistent they were never off the phone all summer and this time the money was just too much for us.

"The directors have done as much as they can and they can't keep putting as much money in each year. We have to stand on our own two feet.

"If you don't get bigger support you have to sell the players you don't want to sell. That's football. Accrington got a 1,000-plus crowd again on Tuesday night against Altrincham and that's a third of the money they gave me for Paul recouped from just one game," said Glendon.

"It's very difficult. I love Paul Mullin. He's different class. I worked hard with him for two years and he always met me halfway.

"I'm disappointed because I had just signed Neil Hardy and they only played one game together, but the survival of the club is more important than one individual player."

Looking back on their first two games, Glendon is acutely aware of the need to get a win under their belts.

"We have a lot of young lads in the side. Our average age is 22 now and I just hope we get a result quickly," he said. "It's bad enough with experienced players, but young lads need the confidence boost of a win even more.

"We might just have to be patient with one or two of them. Lads like the young keeper, Danny Hurst for instance. I thought he could have done better with a couple of the goals at Osset, but he is a good keeper.

"We missed Mark Dempsey at Osset. With him, Mullin and Steve Berryman that's three big players to be missing. They represent a lot of experience right down the middle of the park.

"Dempsey is a character. He gets people at it and we'll be glad to have him back on Saturday.

"Simon Kelly came back in after his holidays and he was the best of what was a poor back line on the night," added Glendon.