Prolific goalscorer Alan Griffin has snubbed an offer from Chippenham Town and pledged his future to Corsham.

But the 21-year-old striker may have missed his chance to play for the Bluebirds according to Chippenham manager Steve White, who continues to draw blanks in his effort to attract forwards to the club.

"We have been interested in Alan for about eight months. If he was going to come then the time would be now. I'm not sure that the opportunity will arise again," he said.

Griffin turned down the move after he had talks with his manager Colin Bush. He said: "Corsham made it clear that they wanted me to stay. They are near the bottom of the league and need me to help out and keep them in this division. I will be staying for at least the rest of this season."

The Gazette understands that Griffin's pay would have risen from £30 to £90 a game in the Southern League Premier.

He was not the only player to turn down Chippenham this week with Bishop Sutton striker Dave Borborough also refusing a seven-day transfer request.

Borborough, 18, is also wanted by Paulton Rovers but has pledged his future to the Bishop Sutton.

Sutton secretary Roy Penney said: "He has told me that he is going to stay. He is a great prospect but has only had a handful of games at Screwfix level.

Griffin justified his decision by saying: "I was thinking about going this time. Nobby (Bush) wants to see how I do at this level first. This is my first season in the Screwfix Premier Division. I feel that I need a full season here to prove myself before stepping up."

The striker, who was signed by Bush from Malmesbury Victoria, feels he owes something to the manager.

He said: "I have a lot of respect for Colin. He has done a lot for me. Staying here to help Colin was part of my decision."

Despite White's opinion he may have missed the boat, the forward has not ruled out a move to Chippenham sometime in the future. He said: "I would have loved to play for Chippenham Town. They are a great club but I could only move there when I feel I am ready. Hopefully Steve White will still want me."

Bush was obviously relieved Griffin decided to stay put. He said: "I am delighted that Alan is staying at the club and that he sees his immediate future with us."

The striker's scoring record illustrates why Chippenham were interested. He was top scorer at Corsham last year with 31 goals and has nine so far in this campaign.

Griffin said: "I set my self a target of 20 this year as it is a harder league. I'm well on my way to reaching that goal and could even bag a few more."

White needs to bring in more players to bolster his depleting squad. He said: "If you take away the two keepers I only have a squad of 14 players and Mark Badman is injured. My predecessor had 32 players.

"I need to bring in at least two more players in order to maintain our good start to the season."

White said the search for a striker will go on as he only has three at the club. They are Martin Paul, who has a calf strain at the moment, James Constable and Sam Allison, who misses games as he is on call as a fireman.