Godfrey Poku wants to stay at AFC Telford

Bucks boss Steve Kittrick admitted earlier this week that he could face a battle to retain the highly-rated player.

Poku, who lives in London, is rumoured to be on the radar of a number of clubs in his home city following Telford's relegation from the Conference Premier.

But Kittrick said: "I have had a conversation with him, he's going to think about what he wants but he enjoys it here, he is settled here, and the travelling is a situation which he has got used to, so he did sound very positive.

"Godfrey came to speak to me. I just said 'What are your thoughts?' and he said 'it is in my thoughts, I like it at Telford, the supporters like me, and it is not all about going for money.'

"It is up to him and things can change very quick but it was refreshing to hear that he is looking at it from that perspective.

"He has shown an interest in staying, so it is basically a case of looking and seeing if we can do a deal with him."

The news is another tentative positive for Kittrick, who also expects plenty of suitors to be keen on snapping up top scorer Tony Gray for the next campaign.

Both Gray and Poku, like most of the squad, are out of contract at the end of the season. Gray has stated he was willing to talk about a new deal.

Telford have three games left to negotiate before then, starting with tomorrow's home clash against Lincoln City.

The Bucks, who are bidding to end a near five-month winless home run in the league, should be boosted by the return of Poku and Mike Grogan.

Poku was rested in the 3-0 win against Southport on Monday because of an injury while Grogan did not play due to a mouth infection.

Off the field, Kittrick had been hopeful of making progress to appoint a new assistant manager this week.

But he said: "Nothing will happen until the season is over. They won't make a decision, either of them, until it is over."