FANS have praised Worcester City joint managers John Snape and Lee Hughes for doing a “tremendous job” in capturing home-grown talent.

The duo have pledged to sign players from within a “20-mile radius” of the city as they prepare for the Midland League Premier Division campaign.

Among their recruits are Worcester-born duo Brad Birch and Nathan Hayward and James Baldwin from Fernhill Heath.

Young Lower Wick striker Joe Bates has agreed a new deal and City have attracted other promising players from the surrounding areas.

Speaking at a fans’ forum long-time supporter Paul Hundley said: “I want to congratulate John and Lee for what they have done as far as bringing all the local lads back to Worcester.

“It is no good having players from all over the place. It wasn’t financially sound so they have done a tremendous job.”

Another fan Niels Eiriksson said: “There should be no one outside a 30-mile radius of Worcester and that’s what Worcester City should be about. It should be a club full of local players.

“I have been banging on about this for years and it has finally happened.”

Last season the Blue and Whites snapped up players from as far as Manchester and Grimsby.

Although admitting City received interest from players further afield than the county Snape said he was determined to give local talent a chance.

“We are trying to get as many home-grown players as we can on to the pitch and we will see if they are good enough,” Snape said.

“We have had over 120 phone calls from players trying to come to Worcester from outside the city — from the Wolverhampton and Tamworth areas.

“But we have said we still want to focus on our home-grown boys. We have got some good home-grown talent that we want supporters to come support and enjoy.”

Hughes said: “When I signed I said we need local players at Worcester.

“I could not understand how many players a team could sign from all over the country.

“I was thinking ‘What a waste of time, there has got to be talent within a 20-mile radius instead of signing people from Nottingham, Manchester and Liverpool'.”