Frannie Collin has explained why he turned down a return to Dover Athletic.

The 26-year-old striker attracted interest from six clubs after his departure from Tonbridge Angels at the end of the season.

Collin spent three years at Crabble following his release from Gillingham in 2007. He helped the Whites win back-to-back titles as they climbed from Ryman League, Division 1 South into Conference South.

He was prolific during his Tonbridge days and did consider a return to Dover but newly-promoted Maidstone won the race for his signature.

Collin said: “I had a good time at Dover but a lot of people say you should never go back. It’s a good club and I enjoyed my time there. I felt I needed a fresh start and perhaps going back to one of my old clubs wasn’t the right thing to do.

“I spoke to (Dover assistant manager) Jake Leberl. I played with Jake down there and know him well. I did have a chat with Dover and they wanted me to come back to the club.

“There was a lot of interest and Maidstone had made me an offer that I was relatively happy with.

“I’d given Maidstone my word before I went away on holiday and I’m not the sort of person to go back on it.

“Obviously the contract still had to be signed but I’d said to Jay (Saunders) that I was happy to sign.”

When asked about the talks, Dover boss Chris Kinnear insisted: “We weren’t really interested in Frannie and I never spoke to him.”

Meanwhile, Collin denied that his decision to join the Stones was financially motivated.

He said: “I’m not stupid. I know people will think that I’ve moved for money but I’m not earning any more than I would have done at Tonbridge.”