CLIVE WALKER’S holiday in Greece didn’t quite work out to be the relaxing break that he had intended - but the Dover Athletic manager didn’t mind one bit.

Walker was in regular contact with chairman Jim Parmenter as they pieced together the deal which saw defender Tony Browne, midfielder Lee Spiller and striker Tommy Tyne return to Crabble from Welling United on two-year contracts, with Matt Carruthers heading in the opposite direction to Park View Road.

Walker said: "It all kicked off while I was away and my phone didn’t stop ringing.

"I had spoken to Tony and Tommy before I left and so I was pretty confident that they would sign, but the one that surprised me was Lee. I didn’t think he would be interested, but he rang me in Greece and said he wanted to come back as well."

Walker puts great store in signing players whom he knows plenty about and that clearly applies to Browne, Spiller and Tyne, who all played for him in the Whites’ team that finished third in the Dr Martens League Premier Division in 2002-03.

He said: "Tony is very reliable, you know what you are going to get with him week in week out. He has great energy levels and gives you width down the right hand side. Lee lifts other players with his skill and enthusiasm, and he can pop in a few goals for you as well."

As for Tyne, Walker acknowledged that there were question marks over his goal return during his previous spell at Crabble, but said: "Tommy is a handful the way he can run past two or three defenders at a time.

"He should maybe score more goals than he does but people tend to forget that’s he only 24, and I’m sure that sooner or later he will catch fire in front of goal."

Mr Parmenter, who completed the negotiations at the weekend, said: "Tony, Lee and Tommy were our top targets for the summer and getting them completes what we think will be an excellent squad for next season. We all share the same ambition: going back up as champions.

"Having been around a few football clubs, if you have got a settled squad when you start your pre-season you don’t have to trial players, you don’t have to mess around. You can start working on your playing system straightaway - in my view it’s a great advantage."

The chairman confirmed that the 'three for one' deal was only made possible by Welling manager’s Adrian Pennock’s desire to sign Carruthers.

"The whole thing wouldn’t have happened without all the elements being in place, and Matt going to Welling was a pre-requisite for the whole thing being put together," he confirmed.

"It also helps us to balance the books, and we are not going to put this club back into financial jeopardy again by extending ourselves too far.

"In an ideal situation we would like to have kept Matt, but we have got three excellent players in exchange for him, and so I think it’s a good deal for all concerned."