JAMES Coutts has admitted to turning down offers of “better money” elsewhere in favour of joining Dorchester Town.

The former Weymouth captain will put pen to paper tomorrow evening after agreeing to join the Magpies on non-contract terms.

Once signed, he will become the eighth member of the county town squad to have previously played for the Terras.

The midfielder came close to signing for the Magpies at the beginning of December but instead opted for Blue Square South leaders Newport County after returning from a five-month spell in America.

However, his stay in South Wales came to a premature end 10 days ago and he will become former team-mate and close friend Ashley Vickers’ sixth signing since taking temporary charge.

Coutts, who spent time training with Salisbury City following his exit from Newport, is now keen to help the Magpies start climbing the Blue Square South table.

He said: “Everyone knows I’ve got a close relationship with Ash and now there are several players at Dorchester that I’m close mates with.

“I had others offers with better money but it wasn’t about that. I’ve never hidden my ambitions to play as high as possible but right now I want to get games under my belt and help Dorchester move away from the relegation zone.

“I’m not looking too far in the future, I just want to focus on getting as many games in as I can. If I do well then teams higher up may come in for me, but hopefully that would also mean Dorchester would want me to stay.”

Asked about his short stay at Newport, Coutts revealed: “I went to Newport and everything was good. I played a few games, much sooner than I expected to, and Dean Holdsworth seemed pleased with how I was doing.

“We had talks about me signing until the end of the season and the gaffer was still happy after the game against Dorchester on December 28.

“However, that night there was a board meeting and I had a phone call the next day saying there were too many midfielders and the board couldn’t justify paying me.

“The gaffer said I could hang around and see what happens but without getting paid, and I wasn’t prepared to do that.

“I left on good terms though, and I still speak to the manager. I’m now ready to join Dorchester.

“It’s all agreed, everything should be signed tomorrow night. If the weather was a bit better then it might have been done in time for the weekend but the game against Thurrock was always in doubt so we decided not to rush it through.

“I feel I’m a Dorchester player so I feel part of the team.”

As well as trying to drag Dorchester away from a relegation dogfight, Coutts also hopes to see his former employers avoid the drop.

He said: “Hopefully we’ll stay up but I also hope Weymouth stay up as well. I’ve got good feelings towards Weymouth but my main priority now is Dorchester.”

After seeing Saturday’s match with Thur-rock postponed due to a frozen Jewson Stadium pitch, the Magpies are now preparing for this weekend’s trip to St Albans City.