Former Nottingham Forest and Derby County star plus ex-Cardiff City defender sign for Ilkeston Town

Having already brought in experienced striker Chris O’Grady and full-back Ben O’Hanlon, the Robins signed former Derby County and Nottingham Forest man Jamie Ward as well as defender Ben Turner – who has 42 Premier League games to his name with Cardiff City – both having been with last season’s NPL champions Buxton last season.

Full-back Kalern Thomas has joined from Coalville Town, while goalkeepers Saul Deeney and Tomasz Bukowski have also joined from the Leicestershire side in the last week, Deeney having spent the end of last season on loan with Ilkeston in their title push.

Robins boss Martin Carruthers spoke with excitement about his new acquisitions.

He said: “The signing of Ben Turner once again underlines the intent and willingness from the club to keep on developing and giving the amazing supporters the talented team that this club deserves.

“Ben is a hugely experienced and talented defender who will be a key player for us in the coming season.

“He’s a big, powerful defender who will give us steel and aggression in both boxes.

“I am delighted that we have secured a huge signing in Jamie Ward.

“We have been following him for the past two seasons and it is an unbelievable coup for this football club.

“It’s a real statement of intent and to get him from Buxton after their own recent promotion shows how highly the club is currently thought of.

“Jamie has stacks of experience and his quality is unquestionable.

“Saul Deeney was a key factor in getting us over the line in our end of season push for the title and his experience and quality will be invaluable to us again this season, while Tomasz comes highly recommended and is another player with step three experience.

“Kalern is a pacy attacking full-back who will not only add strength and power to our backline but also excite the fans with his pace and attacking style.

“A huge thank you to both [club owners] Dave Hilton and Andy Nally for working tirelessly since the season finished, giving us so many of the players that we asked for and more.”