STALWART Stuart Whitehead will play for Worcester City next se-ason if they are “in desperate need” of his services.

The centre-half, captain of the Conference North club last season, has an increasing number of business commitments, as well as a young family, and is not certain he can devote 100 per cent to football.

Whitehead, who turns 37 next week, is set to be registered by City for the 2013-14 campaign but used sparingly.

“I don’t want to go into it and not fully commit,” he said. “I think what I am going to do is sign forms so I can play at Worcester and if they are in desperate need then I will do.

“It’s nothing to do with money and I don’t want to play for someone else. Hopefully, I will still have a part to play this season but we will see how it pans out.”

The former Kidderminster Harriers and Telford United defender made 33 starts for Carl Heeley’s team last term and his experience on and off the field was an asset to the club.

With Jacob Rowe and Lee Ayres having left, Worcester face a defensive rebuild.

Sam Smith has joined from Stourbridge but City could be in the market for at least one more central defender.

Manager Heeley currently has 12 players on board for the new campaign, which kicks off against Altrincham on August 17. But he is expected to wait until City's pre-season friendlies are under way before making any more additions.

Training began at Kidder-minster Harriers’ Chainwire Sports Ground base last Tuesday where around 20 hopefuls joined the existing squad in a bid to earn deals.

Heeley, his assistant Matt Gardiner and first-team coach John Snape will whittle that number down over the coming weeks, with the finished squad likely to feature around 18 players.

But they will be keen to see how potential signings adapt in a match environment bef-ore making any decisions on permanent acquisitions.

The first opportunity is today’s behind-closed-doors friendly against Birmingham City at the Championship club’s Wast Hills training facility.

After that, they have practice games scheduled at Malvern Town on Wednes-day, July 24, and Stourport Swifts 24 hours later, although the squad is likely to be split between the two matches.