BRENTWOOD Town manager Steve Witherspoon has had to fend off 'seven or eight' transfer enquiries for leading scorer Alex Read this season.
The manager knows that The Blues' hopes of reaching a play-off spot partly rely on Read, who netted his 24th and 25th goals of the season in Saturday's 3-1 win against Potters Bar.
League scouts from Dagenham & Redbridge and Leyton Orient are thought to have been present at the game to keep tabs on the forward but Witherspoon is hopeful that he will at least see out the season at The Arena but concedes he's free to move on.
"I'm having people ringing up about him all the time," said Witherspoon. "He has realised that we are a good club for him and we've been good to him and he's been good for us.
"I'd like to think that he'll stay with us until the end of the season and beyond that who knows? We don't want to lose him."
Read moved to Brentwood in July from Tilbury and has been in blistering form ever since.
Witherspoon admitted to being worried that his team might lack fitness after so many games were called off during the festive period, but he was delighted with their effort levels on Saturday.
He said: "I had to be a bit clever with my substitutions because quite a few were blowing towards the end of the game.
"We managed to train on the all-weather surface over Christmas and it's testament to the players that they trained so hard and it really paid off. They showed a great attitude.
"I know that Redbridge weren't able to train over Christmas and they got thrashed 11-0 the other day, so it just goes to show how important it is."
The win moved Town up to 13th in Ryman League Division One North but, with several games in hand over all their opponents, they're still very much in the promotion hunt.
Crucially, a little bit of luck is also starting Brentwood's way: in the last two games the opposition have missed penalties at crucial moments.
"That's the sort of thing that's going our way at the moment and long may it continue," he said.
Next up is a trip to Thurrock to take on Romford tonight (Wednesday) and Brentwood have got a fully fit squad to choose from, barring Neil Cousins who continues his comeback from an ankle problem.
"He's been out of seven or eight weeks and getting him back will be like a new signing," said the manager.
"Before he got injured he was playing in a three-man midfield and loving it.
"We'll go to play Romford and it'll be a difficult game but it's on a good surface and there are no excuses."
This Saturday it's another away day for Town, when they travel to Waltham Forest.
