GOALKEEPER Reece Francis says he’s staying put at Bromsgrove Sporting and vowed to fight for ‘his’ No.1 shirt following an approach from Redditch United.
New Reds boss Paul Smith has wasted little time in finding recruits for the Southern League Premier Central strugglers but Francis is determined to succeed with the Rouslers.
Smith knows Francis well having brought him to Sporting from Cadbury Athletic at the beginning of the previous campaign.
And although Francis was flattered by the approach from a team which is in the level above, he told the Standard he has unfinished business with the Rouslers.
“The club and not the person is in my best interest so that’s why I’m staying with Bromsgrove Sporting – the much bigger club,” he said.
“It was an easy and hard decision to say no to Redditch as all I want to do is play football and the last few weeks have been hard both on and off the pitch.”
Francis has not played since the 4-3 defeat to Alvechurch in the FA Cup on August 25 but the fan-favourite is determined to overhaul the No.1 jersey from Jonathan Brown.
“After getting a phone call from Bren (Kelly – manager) I knew it was the right decision to get my head up and fight for the No.1 shirt,” he added.
“I want to win trophies and I want to win three [league titles] in a row for the fans to get this club to where it belongs.
“I’m not moving anywhere. The fans and everyone at the club sold it to my heart from the word go and I feel like as one of the squad, we owe it to them to bring silverware and league titles to the Victoria Ground.
“I trust Bren and Andy (Mason – assistant manager) and they’re the right people to take the club to the top.
“So I say to the fans keep on coming home and away to cheer the boys on.
“That’s what matter to me and that’s why I decided to stay and fight and work hard for MY shirt.”
