CHERRIES chairman Peter Phillips has moved swiftly to clarify the club's position regarding the possibility of signing John Spicer on a permanent basis.

Phillips was responding to a story which surfaced yesterday suggesting Cherries had "not made any attempt" to snap up the Arsenal loan star.

The speculation appeared on a number of different websites and was backed up by a comment purporting to have been made by an unnamed 'club spokesman'.

According to the article, Cherries "refuted reports" they had asked the Gunners to turn Spicer's loan deal into a permanent arrangement.

And the 'club spokesman' was quoted as saying: "It's news to me. We have signed him for a further month so perhaps people are getting a little confused.

"He is a great player but I don't know where the story came from that we had tried to sign him permanently."

However, Phillips told the Daily Echo today (Thursday) that Cherries have already sounded out the Gunners about the possibility of signing Spicer and the club are "exploring the options".

And asked whether he knew where the quote purporting to have been made by a 'club spokesman' had come from, Phillips said: "No, I haven't got a clue. It certainly didn't come from Sean and it sounds like one of those made-up stories to me!"

See tomorrow's Daily Echo for more on this story and further reaction from Peter Phillips and John Spicer.