DINO Maamria could be the first big-name casualty of the financial troubles at Hilton Park after RMI received a bid from Stevenage Borough earlier this week.

The Tunisian has netted 17 this season to keep the Railwaymen in touch with their rivals in the relegation zone but the bank balance of the Hertfordshire side may be enough to tempt Maamria south - just as it did with goalkeeper Mark Westhead in the summer.

Maamria has attracted interest from Chester City and this weekend's opponents Southport already this season, and while Steve Waywell applied an "over my dead body" approach to such a move, the incumbent boss Mark Patterson states: "Dino is going nowhere until I have replaced him."

There is no doubt that Patterson's prowlings in the transfer market suggest an altogether bigger ambition than the finances of the club could possibly accomodate.

An audacious move for Halifax hot-shot Lewis Killeen was unlikely to be heralded with success with goals flying in from all areas off his tried and trusted right boot - one of them being against Leigh on Boxing Day.

Furthermore, a loan deal for Tyrone Thompson of Sheffield United was blown out of the water when an acute injury crisis at Bramall Lane allowed the youngster to impress in a roller-coaster FA Cup tie against Ipswich. The boss's struggle was compounded when Lee Woodyatt - a right-sided midfielder of considerable pedigree from Chester - turned down a move to Hilton Park last week.

Maamria has been the most consistent performer up front - a position that Damien Whitehead, Chris Ward, Tony Black, Daniel Bent, Ged Courtney and Stuart Whittaker have all spectacularly failed to master.

He will be an attractive proposition to a host of lower league and Conference clubs when the clock strikes May, but from Saturday's game against the Sandgrounders, his presence will be critical to the destiny of the club.