Veteran striker Lee Hughes leaves Worcester City for league rivals AFC Telford United

Pic: Worcester City FC

VETERAN striker Lee Hughes has left Worcester City to sign for league rivals AFC Telford United – just days after expressing his interest in City’s vacant manager’s job.

The 40-year-old was brought in by former Worcester boss Carl Heeley in September 2015 and Hughes went on to score 33 times in 57 appearances for the National League North club.

Long-serving boss Heeley recently stepped down as City boss and Hughes said he would be interested in taking his first steps into management.

“I’d be up for it,” he told BBC Radio Shropshire. “I’ve spoken to the board about it and outlined my ideas to them.”

However, with no job offer forthcoming, and with other clubs showing interest in his playing services, Hughes decided to leave Worcester for a new challenge at AFC Telford.

The former Premier League striker with West Brom has scored over 300 goals for the likes of Coventry, Oldham, Notts County and Port Vale in a career that began back in 1994.

He has netted 13 times this season for Worcester and joins a Telford side desperate for goals as they look to climb away from relegation trouble.

Hughes, who spent years out of the game after being sent to prison for causing death by dangerous driving in 2004, said: “I’ve always enjoyed playing Telford. I’ve scored a few against them over the years. I just love scoring goals, I’ve still got a few years left in me.

“I had a great time at Worcester, met some great people and scored quite a few goals, but I found out the club was in financial difficulty and that they’d got to get rid of a lot of players and I was one of them. I decided to speak to them about it and they were happy for me to go.”