Bermudian Damon Ming has registered with English Conference South club, Maidenhead United.

The Bermuda national team forward jumped off the bench as a substitute during the Magpies? 3-2 loss to Bognor Regis last Saturday and could see action against Sutton United tonight and against Weymouth and Redbridge over the Easter holiday.

Ming has been in pursuit of landing a long-term contract since late last fall at Barnet where he received a ringing endorsement from coach Paul Fairclough before signing on with United.

?Damon has really improved since he came over to England,? Fairclough told . ?I can see it in our training sessions that he is now used to the pace and strength of the English game.?

Fairclough added: ?He really loves it here and he is great to have around . . . the lads all love Damon.?

Barnet currently top the Conference table to remain in the driver?s seat in the push for promotion. Should the club achieve promotion then it could provide Ming with the option of rejoining Barnet who will then seek to resurrect their Reserve Division programme and expand their squad.

But in any case, when and wherever Ming decides to ply his trade, he will do so with the solid backing of Fairclough.

Meanwhile, Ming?s compatriot Kevin Richards has now returned to employers, ACE, in London after being overlooked during football trials in the US with Major League Soccer side, Colorado Rapids.

Richards represented the national team against visiting MLS Eastern Conference club New England Revolution at the National Sports Centre earlier this month.

?Kevin (Richards) has returned to London and was able to regain his job at ACE in the City,? confirmed assistant national coach Paul Scope .

?The top management of ACE Europe have taken an interest in Kevin, being a well-educated young Bermudian working in their London office, and have been extremely supportive of his football endeavours.

?Kevin, having achieved full fitness again, is keen to start playing part-time at the same sort of level as Damon . . . either in the Conference or Conference South.?

Scope has held discussions with the same agent acting on behalf of Damon, along with Fairclough?s recommendations, in an effort to have Richards ? who also underwent trials at Barnet last year ? sign with Conference South club Dagenham FC.

Scope added: ?From the national team perspective, having these players get invaluable experience overseas is tremendous.

?It is not a coincidence that these players are developing in this way, as they are amongst our most dedicated trainers, and have a great willingness to learn and improve. They also have the full support of their families, which is a big help when undertaking this often long road.?

The assistant national coach now hopes to have Somerset Trojans injury-plagued striker Stephen Astwood return to the UK for additional trials during the English pre-season.

?When he regains full fitness following injury, we will be looking at his prospects of joining an English club at the beginning of pre-season, this time,? said Scope.

Switching his attention to the local front, apathy towards training sessions have given Scope some cause for concern.

?Numbers at training continue to disappoint. But given there are no upcoming games and players are busy with their clubs, it is not unexpected,? he said.

But Scope insisted the national programme would continue through the summer months, with invitations to join the squad now being extended to younger players.

?The next competition, the Pan-Am Games, will be under an Under-23 format (with two over-age players allowed). So we will likely go with an Under-23 side against Manchester City in June,? Scope disclosed.

?Several of our players in the senior squad are young enough to play in the upcoming Under-20 tournament and with students like Thomas Watson, Cornell Castle Jr. and Tuarean Manders coming back from school in the summer, we should have improved numbers to work with.

?Kyle (national coach Kyle Lightbourne) and I have watched a lot of games this year and will also be inviting some new players to the squad for summer training sessions. We have been looking at ability, character and determination along with players with dedication.?

Meanwhile, another local footballer attempting to land a professional contract overseas, Khano Smith, could see action for touring MLS side Revolution in Ecuador today.

The Boston-based club are scheduled to take on Emelec today.

Smith, 24, scored and assisted in another goal during a practice match held last Thursday in Ecuador.