A CHANCE meeting with manager Dave Webb convinced Nick McRae his ‘footballing fate’ was always a return to former club Highworth Town this season.

A member of John Fisher’s 2004/5 championship winning side, McRae has spent the last two years with Hellenic League rivals Hungerford.

Captain of Hungerford’s Challenge Cup winning side last season, McRae could have been forgiven for extending his stay in Berkshire in the hunt for more silverware.

But after bumping into his old assistant boss earlier this summer, McRae needed little convincing that the Elms would be best place to spend his next nine months.

He explained: “I just bumped into Webby one day. To be honest I can’t even remember where we were.

“We got talking about football and he asked me what I thought about coming back.

“He was a good player and he’s always been an excellent coach. I like the way he wants to play the game.

“I knew straight away I wanted to play for Dave Webb next season and so it was not a very difficult decision.”

A cultured central defender, McRae will occupy the sweeper’s role for Highworth this campaign as Webb looks to make good on his pre-season promise of ‘total football.’ At 28 he will be one of the squad’s elder statesmen, and it’s a role McRae is relishing ahead of the big kick off.

He said: “I’m one of the oldest in the squad now which has got to be a good thing for the future of the club.

“There’s a lot of young people here, some really good ones to be honest.

“And with the way Dave Webb is trying to get us to play I think there could be a very bright future here.

“Most of all I want people to enjoy it and not get too hung up on results.

“When we won the league back in 2005 we had a very good side, but we also had a lot of fun.

“That combination of skill and enjoyment seemed to work and that’s what I’ll be telling some of the younger lads this time around.”

And after leaving perennial title contenders Hungerford for another shot at the crown with Highworth, McRae insists he has no regrets.

“We had a really good year last year. I was captain of the team which won the Challenge Cup.

“But I wanted to come back to Highworth.

“I hope we will be somewhere near the top of the table.

“It would be very hard to win the league in our first season together as a new group of players, but we will give it our best.”