The duo took charge of bottom-of-the-table Rocks on Wednesday after the departure of Robbie Blake and are in charge for the first time when they head to Potters Bar Town tomorrow for an Isthmian premier division game.

Birmingham was fully aware of the talents of the former Eastleigh forward and brought Beale in to training last night — and what he and Howell saw obviously impressed the pair as the 24-year-old from Portsmouth has put pen to paper.

Birmy said of Beale’s switch to Nyewood Lane from the Southern League Premier South outfit: “I originally had Lewis with me at Horndean when he was 18. He’s a very quick centre forward and he has more or less been converted to wide man now. He’s a local boy from Pompey as well. Wimborne were looking to reduce their wage bill and we were offered Lewis by the manager Tim Sills and fair play to him for thinking of us.

“He is at a great age, 24. He was at training last night and he did okay. We have to bring in fresh faces, new blood and we need bit of an incentive; the changing room needs to be lifted another 10 to 20 per cent and this is what you get when you get new people coming in.

“Players do raise their games because they are worried about being replaced. Everyone has a clean slate but it is something that we have identified that we need a wide player, another attacker, to give Dan Gifford a little bit of help and support up there because he can’t always do it on his own.”