NEW BADGERS Hill boss Nick Bunyard says that Frome Town were the only club he would have brought a swift end to his managerial sabbatical to take charge of.

Bunyard, who captained Frome in his playing days, replaced Adrian Foster as manager last week but work commitments prevented him from sitting in the dugout for the Bank Holiday weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Kettering Town and 5-0 drubbing at Poole Town, with the Robins chief also missing Saturday’s clash with Hitchin Town.

Bunyard’s new-look management team of assistant boss Paul Milsom and coaches Josh Jefferies and Matt Bown will take charge against Hitchin but will be working with a threadbare squad following the expected exodus of players linked to Foster’s departure.

Striker Ollie Taylor joined Chippenham Town on Wednesday, while fellow frontman Ben Thomson and defender Chris McGrath have joined Weymouth and Bideford respectively, with midfielder Jon Vance also informing Frome that he will leaving the club.

Winger Jamie Horgan is the first new face in under the Robins’ new regime, with the youngster joining on a dual-registration basis with Bath City, and Bunyard expects to be busy bringing players in over the coming weeks.

“I left Paulton at the end of last season. I brought them up through the play-offs and we finished 10th in the Southern Prem last season, so people may think ‘why are you joining a team that’s struggled near the bottom of the league?’” said Bunyard.

“But Frome have a lot of plans and initiatives and they do things right off the pitch.

“It’s a club that’s close to my heart because I live nearby and I captained them as a player. I’d been watching a few games at Bath and at Frome and I wouldn’t have come back to go anywhere else.

“It’s going to be tough and we’re going to have to scrap and battle. A lot of the lads who were based down near Yeovil have left, which we expected, and we’re going to have to try and bring players in to boost the squad.”

Rob Hobbs’ strike wasn’t enough to prevent Frome going down 2-1 to Kettering on Saturday, with Saul Williams and Elliott Sandy netting for the Poppies, before Frome were trounced at title-chasing Poole.