GLENN Howes last night revealed he had decided to join Gosport Borough – until Tom Killick persuaded him to make a dramatic U-turn.

The Poole Town midfielder confirmed he had opted to remain at Tatnam after rejecting an offer from Southern Premier new boys Gosport.

Howes admitted he held talks with Boro boss Alex Pike before coming to a “verbal agreement over the phone” with the Privett Park outfit.

Gosport, who defeated Poole in last season’s Division One South & West play-off final, reported on Thursday evening that the central midfielder had “re-signed” for his old club.

But Howes, a key figure in Poole’s promotion near miss, had a change of heart after further discussions with Dolphins manager Killick.

He confessed he had been “to-ing and fro-ing” and considering his options as he lives far closer to Gosport and has to combine his work commitments with travelling to train and play.

But the 30-year-old insisted the chance to go one better with Poole next season – and Killick being “very persuasive” – had swayed his final decision to stay with Dolphins.

Howes told the Daily Echo: “I had an approach from Gosport and met up with Alex Pike and then Tom Killick.

“I spoke to Tom and with the calibre of players he was chasing, I came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t need me in the squad.

“Then it was bad timing with Tom as he went on holiday. I said I was considering quitting, but he said I couldn’t leave and that I was quite highly thought of.

“He said he felt like there was a bit of unfinished business with the way the club finished the season and, hopefully, I have made the right decision. I had a U-turn and agreed to sign again for Tom.”

Hedge End-based Howes, who made 31 appearances for Dolphins last season, chose to stay in Dorset despite claiming the financial package offered by Gosport had been “quite a lot better than at Poole”.

He added: “Poole have been really welcoming. The board of directors have been fantastic to me.

“They have looked after me and a couple of times when I have been injured, they paid for the physiotherapy.

“I think I have got a lot to add and pass on to the likes of Will Spetch and Marvin Brooks.

“I said to Tom that the club has been very good to me and that if I saw Poole racing away with the title or in the play-offs next season, I wouldn’t have been able to help thinking ‘what if’ so I decided to stay and give it one more big go.

“After sleeping on it, I realised I might have made a mistake and decided to give it a go with Poole.”