By Hugo Greenhalgh
Dulwich Hamlet manager Gavin Rose was full of praise for his new strikers Danny Mills and Ade Yusuff, as preparations continued for the club’s second season in the National League South.
Mills joined the Hamlet this summer from Ebbsfleet and has already scored five goals in four games this pre-season, his latest coming on Monday night against a strong Bromley side. Rose revealed that the striker has been a long-term target for the club.
“I’ve known Danny a few years now and always stayed in touch. We’ve tried to get him signed over here for a few years now but it’s never been the right timing,” he said. “But we’ve managed to get him over this year which is great.”
Despite his prolific start to pre-season, Rose feels that there are other attributes to Mills’ game which he can bring to the team.
Rose explained: “Danny’s not known for being an out-and-out goalscorer, he’s probably a bit more of a target man and a bit more of a nuisance really. He’s very hard working and makes life hard for defenders but I’ve always felt that if he receives crosses in the box that he can score goals.”
Dulwich have also brought in Ade Yusuff from Folkestone Invicta, for whom he scored 50 goals in 101 appearances. He was on the scoresheet for Dulwich in their recent tour of the North West, helping his side to a 4-2 victory over Marine. Rose is confident that Yusuff can emulate this kind of form again over the course of the coming season.
“Ade played at Dagenham and Redbridge when he was younger and didn’t quite make the grade,” Rose said. “He’s had some strong seasons at Folkestone, played against us and so we know how good he can be. He scored a lot of goals and always works really hard.”
However, the manager also said that he and the coaching team would be working closely with Yusuff to help him hone his talent.
“I think Ade is a project. One thing we don’t have to teach him is how to shoot”, Rose added. “We know he can score goals, so there are other parts of his game we want to work on and hopefully if we can tidy things up, he can get a better game understanding. It doesn’t have to be an overnight thing. We’re happy to work at it over a period of time.”
With just over two weeks remaining until the start of the season, Rose is still looking for a few more bodies to add to his side.
“I think we need another centre-half. We probably need another forward/wide player,” Rose said. “Being greedy, we probably want a full-back who can play either right- or left-back.”
Hamlet’s remaining pre-season schedule:
Saturday July 20 – Tottenham Hotspur XI (H)
Tuesday July 23 – Sutton United (A)
Saturday July 27 – Crystal Palace U23 (H)
Monday July 29 – Carshalton Athletic (A)
Image: @Ollie_Jarman