MELKSHAM Town are facing a race against time to get their new Cameroon midfielder signed ready for tomorrow's Screwfix League Premier Division opener at Exmouth.

Paulin Mbakop, who has played top flight football in Cameroon alongside former Chelsea star Geremi, has been training at Melksham for the last few weeks but cannot play competitively until he gets international clearance.

The club sent off his application to the England FA two weeks ago and are now waiting for them to get the go-ahead from their counterparts in Cameroon.

There should be no problem in the long term, but Town boss Nigel Tripp is desperate for him to be involved tomorrow.

Tripp said: "I am just keeping my fingers crossed because it would be a big blow to go into our first game without him. Paulin adds that bit of steel to our side and is even perhaps a better defender than he is a midfielder.

"It is very frustrating because we sent the form off in plenty of time."

Mbakop, 24, moved to England from Cameroon a year ago and spent last season playing in the Chippenham Sunday League for Holt.

Before moving to England he enjoyed a seven year spell at Cameroon First Division club Cintra Yaounde, where he played against some of Cameroon's top stars.

Before that he spent a year at Fovu Baham, and it was here he met Middlesbrough midfielder, Geremi.

Mbakop said: "I was playing in the second team at Fovu and Geremi was in the first team but sometimes I would also play in the first team with him. I learnt a lot by playing next to Geremi because he is a great player and a really nice person. We became friends.

"I still talk to him on the phone and we sometimes meet up in London still."

The diminutive midfielder may not have the physical presence of some of his opponents but what he lacks for in size, he makes up for in determination and aggression.

He showed against Paulton on Tuesday night that he sometimes goes too far, when the referee asked Tripp to substitute him before he was sent off, but Mbakop said he had to learn to look after himself.

He said: "Football in Cameroon is very tough and physical and as I am only small I had to learn to cope.

"I like a tackle and I don't let bigger people get the better of me."