HE'S been at The Causeway for around a year but Brad Andrews insists Cinderford Town fans still haven't seen the best of him.

Andrews was recently appointed Town's player/coach and is currently working towards gaining his UEFA B coaching badges.

The 31-year-old, however, says playing is still his number one priority.

There's no doubting the midfielder's pedigree.

As a youngster, he progressed through Bristol City's school of excellence before being lured away to Norwich City as a trainee pro in 1997/98.

He also had trials with Southampton, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Andrews was taken on at Norwich on full professional terms by Mike Walker and also played at Carrow Road under Bruce Rioch.

It was a golden era for the Canaries as they competed with and against the best on the English and European stages.

Andrews said: "We had players like Robert Fleck, Ruel Fox and Jeremy Goss at the club and we were playing in Europe against teams such as Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.

"Looking back, it was an amazing experience which I probably took for granted. You don't realise how lucky you are to be a young pro with a Premiership club."

Unable to break into Norwich's first-team, it was Ian Holloway who tempted Andrews back to Bristol in March 1998 to play for the Rovers.

He played alongside Holloway – now manager of Blackpool – in midfield.

Despite getting first-team action, he was released at the end of that season for financial reasons.

A season playing in Australia was followed by a spell of travelling.

After that, Andrews contented himself with life as a semi-pro player with the likes of Mangotsfield, Clevedon and Brislington.

He rekindled his love for the game under Paul Weeks at Almondsbury.

Andrews said: "I've played under good, bad and indifferent managers, but Paul is excellent at getting the best out of people. People want to play for him."

Hamstring injuries have plagued Andrews throughout his career, but it is a back problem that has held him back at Cinderford.

He said: "When I joined Cinderford I was playing with the injury, which kept getting worse.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I had a double prolapsed disc. I had an op in February and since then I've had various strains and niggling injuries.

"Now, I actually feel the best I've felt in a long time. I've lost some general fitness, but my body is generally feeling much better."

As the senior player on the field and a coach off it, Andrews views himself as a conduit between Town's players and the management.

He added: "We've got a very young and inexperienced team, but there's also a lot of talent.

"When I joined the club things didn't look so good – I think we had seven points. We're much better than a mid-table side now and I think we'll prove that. I don't expect to play every game, but I've definitely got a lot of football left in me."