Ian Simpemba

Hawks secure Simpemba signature

Havant & Waterlooville manager Shaun Gale has made his first summer signing with the capture of defender Ian Simpemba from Blue Square South champions Lewes.

Gale has been an admirer of Simpemba's talents for quit some time and failed in bringing the former Crawley Town captain to West Leigh Park last year.

"We are now a big football club players want to play for," Gale told Portsmouth Today.

"We are looking to bring in the right players with the right mentality and Ian fits that bill.

"He is a player I have been chasing for a while now. We tried to get him last year, but now we have got his signature."

Club secretary Trevor Brock believes that the Hawks' well publicised FA Cup run this season has certainly played a big role in landing the signature of Simpemba.

He said: "Ian's our first new signing and it shows we mean business.

"Everybody has heard of us now and players are actually ringing us about playing for us.

"We are the name club to play for at this level and that certainly helps when signing players.

"We'd like up to five players this summer."

The Dublin-born defender stared his career as a trainee with Wycombe and spent two separate spells on loan at Woking before joining Crawley Town on a free transfer in July 2004.

He made 66 appearances for the Red Devils and had a short loan stint with Aldershot before making a switch to Lewes in the summer of 2006.