JOSH Gowling says earning a new contract at Kidderminster Harriers or another club for next season has become his number one aim since returning from injury.

The experienced centre-half, whose contract is up at the end of the season, is once again finding his feet in Gary Whild’s side after spending the best part of two months on the sidelines with a knee problem.

He made his comeback in the 2-0 Worcestershire FA Senior Cup semi-final victory over Stourbridge and featured in last weekend’s 1-1 Conference draw against Woking at Aggborough.

Now he is looking to continue to assert his authority in the team’s defence when Harriers travel to Nuneaton Town today for a game being screened live by BT Sport (12.45pm).

Gowling, also a coach with Kidderminster, said: “I’m really upbeat and it’s great to be back with the boys in front of the fans.

“It’s been a long road for me and I’m delighted to be back out there.

“I’m out of contract in the summer so I’ve got to put myself in a position to get a contract here or somewhere else and I was itching to get back on the pitch and just play football.

“I’ve watched a lot from the stands and sometimes it’s good just to have a break and have a look at things that we can improve on, so then I can try to implement that a little bit coming back in.”

Gowling, a former Lincoln City player, was also full of praise for defensive colleague Jamie Grimes and believes he has been a key performer for play-off chasing Harriers this season.

The 31-year-old said: “I spoke to Grimesy before the Woking game and said you’re going to have to help me through it as I haven’t played for a while.

“But he was excellent and that was probably one of his best performances he’s had in a while and I’m happy about that.

“He’s been progressing and improving and I hope he continues to do that.”