GARETH MOORHOUSE MEETS THE MAN SIGNED TO SCORE THE GOALS FOR SUPERMARINE...

HAVING spent the majority of his striking career playing second fiddle, Alan Griffin is hoping to take centre stage this season with new club Swindon Supermarine.

The former Chippenham and Mangotsfield marksman has lived in the shadow of big brother Charlie since he first laced up his boots, but he could be about to make some headlines of his own.

His summer switch to South Marston has already yielded four pre-season goals and Griffin is hoping to repay Marine’s faith in him with a 20-goal return.

“Hopefully this season will be good for me,” he said.

“I’m not bothered about making the headlines, but if you score goals then you are going to get them.

“There’s five decent strikers at this club so the first target is just to be playing on the first day of the season.

“I got 15 goals at Mangotsfield last season and I was pretty happy with that in a struggling team.

“If I can stay fit and get into the team here, hopefully 20 goals is an achievable target.”

Marine boss Mark Collier has been tracking Griffin since 2006, and has finally convinced the striker to join his Hunts Copse revolution.

The player himself is excited to be in Swindon, although he admits it was tough to say goodbye to Mangotsfield.

“They were good for me last year, but their budget has been cut and I was made a lower offer.

“I wanted to stay there but the travelling became too much for me.

“Then Mark approached me and I jumped at the chance to come to Supermarine.

“Last year they did surprise a few people, myself included. Usually when you come up in this league you struggle.”

And Griffin also believes Marine’s style of play will suit him, quite literally, “down to the ground”.

“A lot of teams in this league just lump it long, but from what I have seen of Marine they are different,” he said.

“Here they get it into my feet which is great. It gives me chance to work the channels.

“I am feeling sharp so hopefully I can grab a few goals.

“We are first looking to stay in the league and then see where we go from there. Personally I think we will have a good season.”

...AND THE MAN TO KEEP THE GOALS OUT AT THE OTHER END

WITH no real rival for his number one jersey this season, Matty Bulman could be forgiven for leaning comfortably against the goalposts at Hunts Copse.

His arrival from Cirencester Town this summer looked set to spark a battle of the gloves with Tom King until the Marine stopper moved in the opposite direction to the Corinium Stadium.

But far from resting on his laurels in the knowledge his position is safe, the former Swindon Town youngster insists he has never been more driven to succeed.

Bulman said: “I was expecting to fight for my place with Tom, but he obviously got what he thought was a good opportunity at Ciren.

“It’s guaranteed first team football so you can’t really blame him for that.

“I push myself in every performance anyway. I didn’t have anyone pushing me at Ciren, so I don’t need another goalie to push me here.

“I’m very capable of pushing myself.”

Marine fans saw the best and worst of Bulman last season in the two clashes between the Southern League rivals.

He was a unanimous choice for man-of-the-match in the stalemate at Hunts Copse, but a rush of blood to the head cost Cirencester a share of the spoils in the return fixture later in the season.

“Being consistent as a goalkeeper is very important,” admitted Bulman.

“I made a few mistakes last year. No-one likes it, but even the top goalkeepers make them.

“You can be a hero one minute and a villain the next. Against Marine last season I was the hero in the first game and a villain in the second.

“But I would rather keep coming out for balls like that, win 90 per cent of them and save the majority of goals.”

After linking up with many of his “good friends” at Supermarine, Bulman is excited about the prospect of playing for a team on the up.

“I had an offer from the Conference South in the middle of last season, but I turned it down because I would have started on the bench,” he revealed.

“It’s good banter here, there are lots of good characters. Hopefully we can take that from the dressing room out onto the pitch.

“I’m really excited. All my friends are here and I want to help the club progress as much as we can.”