MARK Collier was delighted to finally get his man after securing the signature of former Swindon Town striker Mark Francis this morning.

The Bluebirds and local rivals Frome Town agreed a deal to bring the 19-year-old, who made two appearances in League One during his time at Swindon, to Hardenhuish Park, bringing Collier’s search for striking reinforcements to an end.

Francis, who hit six goals for Frome this season, wasn’t able to feature as Chippenham drew 0-0 at Arlesey Town today but Collier is looking forward to properly welcoming the youngster into the fold next week.

“We put seven days in for him about a month ago and a few days later, Frome signed him on a contract. He started not enjoying his time there and had gone off the boil a bit, by his own admission,” said the Bluebirds boss.

“The two chairmen (Chippenham’s Neil Blackmore and Frome’s Jeremy Alderman) have worked out a deal and I don’t know too much more than that at this stage. He put himself on the transfer list and there were four or five clubs in for him.

“That should be the end of our hunt for a striker. He’s an out-and-out goalscorer, with good movement, and he’s young and hungry to do well.

“He wants to get back into the pro game and we totally respect that. He’ll be involved in training on Tuesday.”

Utility man Toby Osman and Francis’ former Swindon Town youth team-mate Alex Ferguson started up front for Chippenham as they were held to a goalless stalemate in Bedfordshire.

Collier said: “It wasn’t a particularly good game. We knew that it would be a difficult place to go but we were looking to try and come back with three points.

“As it happens, we’ve got a point and come back with a clean sheet. Iain Harvey played 90 minutes, which was important for us.”

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