HE TURNED his back on playing football at a higher level to sign for Petersfield Town this summer.

However, central defender Dan Sackman doesn’t see it as a step down and he wants to be part of another special season at Love Lane.

Sackman was playing for Bognor Regis Town last season in the Ryman League Premier Division and he was a popular player at Nyewood Lane during his time there, so much so that they were reluctant to lose him.

But after a chat with Rocks manager Jamie Howell during the close season he realised he was not a central part of his plans for the season ahead and he had no hesitation in joining the Rams.

“I sat down and had a chat with the Bognor manager about my future and it was apparent that I wouldn’t be playing for them every week,” explained Sackman.

“I want to play football regularly at this stage of my career – I don’t want to be in and out of the team and on the bench a lot.

“I had seen what Petersfield had done in the last two seasons and the club has done really well to get to the Southern League.

“After one conversation with Ian Saunders I knew I wanted to come to Petersfield and I was not worried at all about taking a step down from level three of the non league from Bognor.”

Sackman has had three spells with Bognor, interspersed with playing professionally in the United States for Central Florida Kraze while he was at university. He has also played for Moneyfields and Horsham YMCA.