Dover Athletic defender Nicky Humphrey (left) has signed a new one-year contract that will keep him at the Hoverspeed Stadium until the end of the 2004/05 season.

23-year-old Humphrey has only been back in first team action for three weeks after 14 months out with a serious ankle injury but in that time he has convinced manager Richard Langley that he is back to full fitness and is worthy of a regular place in the starting line-up.

The two-year deal that Humphrey signed when joining from Tonbridge Angels in the summer of 2002 was due to expire at the end of this season but he joins the growing list of Dover stars to have signed up for next year. Tommy Tyne is the one Whites regular who has yet to agree a new deal.

In other news the club have rejected an approach from Eastern Division side Dartford to take young defender Craig Cloke on loan. 19-year-old Cloke, a product of the Whites’ youth system and a former Crystal Palace youth player, forced his way into the first team earlier this season but has not played recently because of injury, though he remains part of manager Richard Langley’s long-term plans.