Happiness for Hamlet! Pinnock’s Tykes move nets Dulwich a cool £100,000

'S famous conveyor belt will be oiled by a cool £100,000 windfall as the south east London production line churns out more talent.

The good news for the Bostik Premier club is that they inserted a sell-on clause when Ethan Pinnock left Champion Hill for Forest Green Rovers last summer.

On Friday night, Championship Barnsley's persistence paid off and after having had a couple of bids rejected for the defender refused to take no for an answer.

The Tykes went back with an offer in excess of £1m for the 24-year-old talent and that was enough to convince Rovers chairman Dale Vince to sell.

Dulwich manager Gavin Rose confirmed that the club are entitled to a slice of any future transfer fee League newboys Forest Green bring in.

He told The : “I've not been told what per centage sell on fee we agreed but I know there is one which is clearly great news.

Growth spurt

“If it's 20 per cent, that's huge money but even ten per cent will be massive for the football club. We've been waiting to see if he gets that move but not just because of what it means for us, but what it means for him.

“He's a very, very good football player who has worked really hard. He came through our academy and developed into what he is today.

“As it happens, not everyone was sure about him when he came through. He had a growth spurt quite late on and that wasn't easy for his body. It was hard for him but he adapted and worked hard on his physical condition. He gave himself the chance. I'm not surprised they're talking about the fee being £1m for him. He'll do anything it takes to make it and we're proud as a club that he is going to be playing at such a high level.”

Progression is something they pride themselves on.

He added: “We've built that reputation now and the development of players is something we focus a lot of our attention on every day.

“It's something Dulwich is famous for, we've got a rich history of unearthing talent and creating pro careers. It's important we keep doing that.”

It's always a difficult summer for any manager who has seen his team lose in a play-off final. Defeat to means the wait for football goes on for a club who have been trying for a few years now.

But how does he pick himself up after the agony of falling just short?

“Practice!” jokes Rose, who has helped a high number of players achieve their professional dream since taking over from Craig Edwards back in 2009.

“I've lost four times in the play-offs since taking over, four of those were finals. It's not a great record to be fair.

“It's the worst feeling in football but to be honest, I've almost become immune to it now. You learn to cope with the disappointment, but it certainly doesn't get any easier.”

Challenges

Rose likes working with what he's got, reporting that the majority of the players he wanted to keep have agreed to sign on.

“That was pleasing, the response I am happy with,” he said. “We've not had to be too busy, and we only actually need one, maybe two, more.

Ethan Pinnock in action for Dulwich Hamlet

“We've not had to sign many new players. We've added Anthony Acheampong and Ricky Hayles which should tighten us up a bit more.

“We may potentially lose one player in the next few weeks. His agent is busy trying to place him at a League club, so we'll see what happens with that.

“I don't think we were too far away from where we needed to be last season. We fell just short, but we think that the best way is to attack next season.

“We're no strangers to picking ourselves up and going again. The season ended very quickly so we've already had two months now to get ourselves refocused and look ahead to the challenges we face next year.”

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