DARREN Anderton says it is no surprise to see his good mate Brett Pitman still scoring goals in non-league, adding: “It’s a real shame he didn’t get that crack in the Premier League.”

Pitman, 36, spent most of his career at Cherries, also having spells with the likes of Bristol City, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth.

He never quite made it to the top flight, leaving Cherries after their promotion in 2015, having scored 102 goals for the club across two spells.

In more recent years, the Jersey-born striker has plied his trade in non-league, featuring for AFC Portchester and Shaftesbury in the Wessex Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football.

In 2022-23 he bagged 50 goals as Portchy finished fourth, before bettering that with 59 last season, helping Shaftesbury to promotion.

It remains to be seen where Pitman ends up next season, but as his former Cherries teammate revealed, the prolific frontman is planning to play again in 2024-25.

Pitman has scored more than 100 goals across the past two seasonsPitman has scored more than 100 goals across the past two seasons (Image: Richard Crease)

Speaking to the Daily Echo about Pitman’s continued goalscoring prowess, ex-England international Anderton said: “We always wonder where he’s going to end up!

“But he’s always going to score goals, no matter what. That’s what he does.

“When I look back, for him I think it’s a real shame he didn’t get that crack in the Premier League, because I think without a shadow of a doubt he would’ve scored goals at that level as well.

“He loves scoring goals.

“He still wants to keep playing and you’ve got to be pleased for him for doing that.

“It will be interesting to see where he ends up next season.

“He’s scoring more and more goals. I know it is at a lower level now, but you’ve still got to do it.

“That’s never going to change.”

Anderton was speaking on behalf of freebets.com