Not many Cambs Kershaw Premier clubs can boast a player with more than 150 Football League appearances to his name . . . but Eaton Socon can.

Dennis Pearce, who played professionally as a left-back for Wolves, Notts County and Peterborough, after climbing off the Aston Villa production line, is the most the eye-catching signing of the summer in these parts.

Now 40, Pearce has been operating at sweeper for Socon in pre-season after being introduced to the club by another player, Richard Kays.

Boss Mark Spavins said: “Dennis knows one of the players who brought him along to training.

“He enjoyed it and it is great to have him around the place. His experience will do us the world of good.

“He gets on the great with the lads and he’ll have to pay £5 every week to play!”

Spavins is still settling into the hotseat after stepping up to Premier Division level during the summer. He has spent 12 years at the helm of Great Paxton across two spells.

An estimated 14 players have made the same summer switch with Paxton having merged with the progressive Little Paxton side to become Paxton United in the Senior A Division.

Spavins has also recruited from United Counties League side Potton and the now defunct Eynesbury Rovers reserve team.

He added: “We’re not quite sure how it will go, but we’re obviously hoping we can do well.

“We start with a couple of tough trips to Hardwick and Lakenheath and we’ll take things from there.”

Eaton Socon finished ninth last season when being pipped to the honour of being leading locals by Brampton, who finished one place and one point better off.

Brampton boss Wayne Ambler is keen on further progress this term.

“We’ve gone from finishing second bottom and needing a reprieve from relegation two seasons ago to finishing eighth and reaching a cup final last season,” said Ambler.

“Now the challenge is to make sure we keep on improving. Every season I set out to better what we achieved in the previous one.

“There are a few new faces who could feature in the first team and we’re looking forward to getting going.”

Ambler hopes Danny Cain can become the prolific frontman the club lacked last season. Cain is a former Eynesbury Rovers Reserves player back in the area after being at university. Graham Marks has moved back to Buckden.

Hemingfords United have been rocked by the resignation of manager Brett Swales a week before they return to the Cambs Premier Division for the first time in a decade.

Swales has spent six years with the village club, cutting his teeth in management with their ‘A’ and reserve teams before having three seasons at the first-team helm.

He steered them to promotion from the Senior A Division last term but has now stepped down.

Swales said: “The decision to resign is really down to family commitments. There will be a lot more work involved in the Premier Division which I just don’t have the time to do. It wouldn’t be fair on the lads to not be fully committed.”

United launch their top-flight campaign with a trip to Over Sports this Tuesday. Chairman Craig Wilkinson said: “Brett’s decision to stand down has taken us by surprise.

“He has been with us for a long time and served his managerial apprenticeship by working his way up from ‘A’ team to first team.”

The club have moved quickly to appoint Dave Sheppard and John Hughes as their new management team.

FIXTURES

(Tuesday August 11)

CAMBS KERSHAW LEAGUE: Premier Division - Cottenham Utd v Brampton, Hardwick v Eaton Socon, Over v Hemingfords Utd. Senior A Division - Somersham Tn v Cambridge University Press. Senior B Division - Godmanchester Rovers Res v Witchford.