CARL Heeley has set his sights on bringing his Worcester City side back to the Faithful City after he and Matt Gardiner signed new deals with the club.
Manager Heeley took over the reigns in January 2010 with assistant Gardiner joining him from Redditch United in May 2011 and they both put pen to paper on Monday (September 29) with ‘rolling long-term contracts’.
The pair masterminded a fine second half of the 2013/14 campaign to keep the Blue and Whites in the Conference North, and have started this campaign in similar fashion, seeing Worcester placed in 13th.
Heeley said: “It’s been on-going for a while now, the discussions, and it’s something both parties were keen to do so it’s good news. We’re all pleased and it’s something to build on for the future.
“I’ve been here a very long time and I’ve seen most things from a player to assistant to manager and I think the stability both me and Matt can offer the club in challenging times is going to be of benefit.
“I want to try and do my best for the club, alongside Matt, and the big ambition now is to get the club back into the city of Worcester, that would be brilliant.”
A club statement added: “The challenges faced by the football club since it left St George’s Lane are well documented and last season was a huge step into the unknown.
“Carl and Matt were instrumental in ensuring that a competitive playing squad was assembled, often in difficult circumstances.
“As the club continues to move forward, it is delighted that Carl and Matt share the club’s vision to continue to develop the community profile and bring the football club back to the city of Worcester as soon as possible.”