WORCESTER Raiders have completed the signing of former Worcester City captain and midfielder Bradley Birch for the rest of the season.

The ex-City playmaker had been revealed as a Hednesford Town player back in May but due to work commitments, Birch has since decided to find a club closer to home.

Birch, who also turned out for Bromsgrove Sporting, captained the Raiders on what was the start of his second spell for the club last night in their 2-0 Hellenic League Division One win over Stonehouse Town.

READ | Cooper's double helps Raiders to win over stubborn Stonehouse

The 29-year-old did make a dozen or so appearance for Raiders back in 2019 when on dual-registration terms during his time at Stourbridge.

After the game, Chris Cornes said that whilst it might take a while for Birch to hit full match fitness, encouraging signs are already there.

"He has missed a bit of pre-season," said the boss.

"He was going to Hednesford but I know Bash (Keenen Meakin-Richards) the manager really well, so we did it the right way when he knew he wanted to come in.

"He has work commitments, so he has missed a bit of pre-season. He's trained with us a couple of times, he was ill last week so getting minutes into him will do him the world of good.

"You can see he was getting stiff towards the end but he will play himself into it and find that fitness; it might take a couple of weeks but everyone knows what Brad Birch he can do and what he brings.

"His leadership qualities , on and off the pitch, have shown already and hopefully he can be the driving force in midfield and help the others along side him and drive us to promotion."