Tommy Treacher admits that it was a “no brainer” to return to Holbeach United for a fourth time.
The striker, who has just enjoyed a successful campaign with Wisbech Town, agreed terms with the Tigers managerial team of Darren Jarvis and Tom Roberts last week.
Treacher first joined Holbeach when Shaun Keeble signed him from Moulton Harrox back in 2006.
Since then, ex-Tigers bosses John Chand (2011) and Glen Maddison (2013) have also moved to bring him back to Carter’s Park, while he also played under Chand and co-chief Graham Drury at the start of last term.
A lack of first-team opportunities forced him to head to Wisbech in October – and he went on to score a career-best 18 goals as the Fenmen finished third in the UCL Premier Division.
With Jarvis and Roberts already keen to bring him “home” to Holbeach, Dick Creasey’s surprise resignation as Wisbech boss last week made up Treacher’s mind to commit once again to a club that he loves.
But the striker insists that he’s not coming back to make up the numbers, with a regular first team spot his target.
“It was a no-brainer to come back,” enthused the Holbeach hitman. “I’ve always enjoyed playing at Holbeach over the years.
“It does feel like there’s something a bit different going on under Jarvo and Robbo and I was keen to be involved.
“I spoke to them soon after Dick left Wisbech – and I didn’t have to think too hard about my decision.
“Everything happened so quickly at Wisbech and it’s a shame that the side has broken up a little. But that’s football, I’m pleased to be a Holbeach player again.
“I didn’t really want to leave Holbeach last season, but I just wasn’t getting enough game time.
“I went away and had my best UCL season in terms of goals, so I do feel I deserve my place in the team this time.”
Famed for his hard-working attitude, South Holland-based Treacher has always been a favourite with the Carter’s Park faithful.
He played a key role in the Tigers’ double-winning side of 2012/13, with one of the highlights seeing him score in a 4-1 Lincolnshire Senior Trophy final win over Bottesford Town at Sincil Bank.
But he really established himself as a UCL force last season, forming a formidable strikeforce with fellow South Holland lad Josh Ford.
The pair notched 39 goals between them – and with Holbeach also signing frontman Ford, Treacher feels they come as a ready-made front two.
“Our tally speaks for itself,” added the 28-year-old. “If we are given the chance, I’m sure we’ll score goals.
“Throw Andrew Tidswell into the mix too and we’ve got a lot of firepower.
“It looks like we’ve got a strong and level-headed squad, which is very important in the UCL.”
Having been a member of numerous Holbeach sidess over the past decade, Treacher is well-positioned to comment on the strength of the class of 2015 under Jarvis and Roberts.
He’s been impressed with the signings of top local talent like Jamie Stevens and Ford and admits that he’s looking forward to being a part of the dressing room.
But Treacher stopped short of labelling his new side title favourites, admitting that they’ll need to gel as a unit before they earn that right.
He added: “Obviously I’ve not trained with the team yet, but the squad looks strong on paper.
“You’d hope that we could be in the mix, but we need to gel – and that can take time.
“It’s important that we build a good team spirit. The double-winning side was the best team ability-wise that I’ve played in here – but we all had a great spirit in the dressing room.
“If we can recreate something like that, we’ll be contenders.”
