Hampton & Richmond Borough boss Alan Devonshire insists he was never likley to quit the club, but admits interest from Cambridge United has hastened talks on a new Beveree contract.

The West Ham United legend met with Cambridge chairman George Rolls on Monday after Beavers counterpart Steve McPherson had granted him permission to discuss the vacant manager’s role at the Abbey Stadium.

The cash-strapped Blue Square Premier title challengers decided not to take talks any further on Tuesday ending speculation Devonshire, out of contract at the end of this season, was about to head to the Midlands.

And the former England winger, who says he only met with United out of curiosity, reckons it is likely he will commit his future to the club by signing a two-year extension to his current agreement.

“We are still talking about a new contract but that is not a problem. We were always looking to get it sorted before the start of the season, but this has just rushed things on a bit,” he said.

“I’m always ambitious and have had success wherever I’ve gone. I may have regreted it down the line if I hadn’t at least spoken to them.

“Out of courtesy I felt it was the right thing to do. We spoke and that is it.”

The news will come as a relief to McPherson who had feared he could lose his Ryman League Premier Division winning manager after initially rebuffing United’s approach at the weekend.

But a two-hour summit with Devonshire on Sunday had left the Station Road chairman confident Devonshire would put pen to paper on a new deal with Hampton having struck a gentleman’s agreement with the Ealing-based boss over his meeting with Rolls.

“We had already started negotiations over his future here and we are at the stage where I think we have made him a very good offer to stay,” he said.

“He is happy at the club and he wants to stay. It was out of courtesy, a gentleman’s agreement, that I let him speak to Cambridge. We’ve both always been very honest with each other.”