Curtis, who bought the club from previous owner Mel Bush in October, has issued a lengthy end-of-year statement on the Terras' website.

"There never have been, nor are there any plans to to implement a partnership or merger with Dorchester," he said.

"The rumour seems to have developed from the recent friendly - which was purely a friendly game of football."

He added: "I do have historic connections with one of the directors at Dorchester, on a personal not a professional basis.

There are no plans on the table to partner or merge with any other teams Weymouth chairman Malcolm Curtis

"I continue to believe that there should be less rivalry between the clubs both on and off the pitch, and by joining forces we should be able to help promote football as a whole within South Dorset and our local communities.

"But there are no plans on the table to partner or merge with any other teams - our intention is to remain an independent club whilst achieving financial stability."

Curtis added that there were no plans to change the club colours, but they were "looking at modernising the logo".