Steve Groome aiming high after Graham Ward finally says yes to AFC Bridgnorth

AFC Bridgnorth are targetting promotion next season – after finally netting the manager they have chased for a number of years.

Former Wolves youngster and Crown Meadow No.2 Graham Ward was this week unveiled as the club's new boss, bringing with him a fresh new management team.

And the man he replaced at the helm, Steve Groome – who will now continue in the club secretary role he balanced with being in the dugout – is expecting big things after finally getting his man to take the reins.

"I've known Wardy for seven or eight years and to be honest have chased him every time the vacancy has come up," said Groome, who had been in the dugout since February 2019 after Adrian Stanton's departure.

"The time has never been right for him but we spoke three weeks ago, he said he had to juggle a few things and then last week said yes.

"We had a Zoom meeting with the committee members and it was all agreed over the weekend."

It is Ward's first job in management after a distinguished semi-professional playing career. Since hanging up his boots in 2012 the 37-year-old has held assistant roles at Bridgnorth's West Midlands Premier rivals Wolverhampton Sporting and Black Country Rangers.

He brings with him assistants Pete Whitehouse and Mark Donaldson, and Groome feels the new management team are an exciting prospect.

The expectations are lofty at Crown Meadow, where the club harbour hopes of a return to step five and the hosts of their former incarnation, Bridgnorth Town, some decade earlier.

The proposed restructuring of non-league, due this summer, has been postponed 12 months, meaning that four clubs will again achieve promotion from the West Midlands Premier next season – and Ward, who is an IT specialist, is expected to lead the charge.

"To be honest we've said we expect a top four finish," Groome, who guided Bridgnorth to a steady mid-table position before the coronavirus null and voided the season two months ago.

"We're not expecting him to come in to maintain mid-table, it's to move us up to step five.

"There are four teams to be promoted and we're strongly looking at that. It's a real opportunity, one of the only good things to come out of this is that it's given us another bite at finishing in the top four promotion places next season.

"He's hopeful of bringing in new players. We hope some of the old guys will stay and hope to strengthen as well as improve the Development side."

Groome, meanwhile, could not hide his delight at acquiring the services of Ward, who was previously assistant to former Wolves team-mate and pal Mark Clyde at Crown Meadow before the duo left in 2016.

He added: "It's absolutely brilliant. The three guys coming in have got a great footballing pedigree and can really take us to the next level.

"We've got a lot of ambition and desperately want to get back to where the old Bridgnorth Town were 10 years ago. 

"We feel everything is right with the club now, we've got the facility, a good reputation again in the town and the last piece of the jigsaw was getting the football bang on and hopefully we've done that."

AFC Bridgnorth Development are looking to become one of the up to 25 clubs entering the new Salop Leisure Feeder League, which is scheduled to launch for 2020/21.