HALESOWEN Town face an anxious wait to see if defender Gavin Hurren can face Weymouth in this Saturday’s Southern League opener.

The former Kidderminster Harriers and Tamworth centre back is poised to join the Yeltz but his arrival has been complicated because he played in Australia over the summer.

Hurren, who can also play in midfield, appeared for Sunshine George Cross in the Victoria Premier League and this means he needs international clearance before completing a move to the Grove.

The Yeltz will also face Weymouth without fellow centre back Jamie Hood who is getting married.

Coach Rob Elmes said: “Because Gavin played in Sydney we have to get the all clear and we do not know if that will arrive in time for Saturday.

“It will certainly be a big bonus for us if he is able to play.”

Elmes revealed the club are unlikely to pursue any interest in former Leicester City man Stefan Oakes, who appeared for the club in their final pre-season friendly, a 2-2 draw with Redditch United.

But he confirmed Daryl Taylor has completed a return to the club, while they are still running the rule over trialist Courtney Sole.

It has been another eventful summer at the Grove which saw Matt Clarke resign as manager and a number of key players depart.

Elmes is now part of a management trio alongside fellow coach Tony Thorpe and technical director Phil Nardiello and is in positive mood ahead of Saturday’s game.

He said: “Weymouth have had their own problems as well and we will be looking to get off to a winning start.

“In reality we were not particularly strong at this time last year but we made a good start.

“If you look at the team which started and finished last season there were a lot of changes along the way.

“I think our team now would give the one of 12 months ago a run for their money.”

Central midfielder Alex Johnson has joined from Loughborough University and is likely to partner Craig Connor in the middle of the park.

Elmes added: “We have probably got the majority of the team in our minds.

“With everything that has gone on it was always going to be a real upheavel and a challenge to get the team in shape.

“We knew there will be comings and goings.

“That said, none of us want a revolving door policy and we would like to keep the team as settled as possible.”

The Yeltz announced on Friday they would be fining striker Stefan Moore a months’ wages for his outburst at the club’s new owners, Graham and Godfrey Ingram.

However, the club could find it difficult to enforce the penalty in full as FA regulations only allow players to be fined a maximum of two weeks’ wages. In a statement the club claimed Moore had broken club and league rules by illegally speaking to two clubs. On the Yeltz official website Godfrey Ingram described Moore’s actions as “about as dumb as you can get.”

Moore did not feature at all against Redditch but Elmes is hopeful the dispute can still be resolved.

He said: “I understand there has been some further dialogue between Stefan and Godfrey since last week and that is encouraging.

“All three of us hope Stefan is in the right frame of mind to start the season.”

The club has not yet released any information on admission prices for Saturday’s game.