LOCAL lad and last season’s skipper Josh Nelmes has agreed his return to Cinderford Town for next season.

Nelmes was a big part of the title-winning team of 2015/16 and stuck by the club through a tough transitional period last season.

He was a constant in the team last season other than a period out injured due to a facial injury caused by putting his body on the line in typical style.

Wingers Callum McOnie and Lewis Ellis have also both signed on for the club’s return to the Southern League Division One South & West.

“Josh epitomises so much of what we need at this football club to once again be successful,” manager Paul Michael said.

“His attitude to training and games is outstanding, on the pitch he will give the club and his teammates everything and off the field he is a true captain.

“He spends time talking with the supporters after games and is genuinely interested in everything going on at the club.

“At the recent youth presentation he gave up hours to play in a coaches vs parents match and shake every player’s hand in giving out the trophies. To me that’s what true leadership is about, leading by example.

“He provides a role model to all local and junior players in the Forest that you can play at this level or higher.

“Being a young player there is still so much to come from Nelmo but we are looking forward to working with him and taking this club forward this season.”

On McOnie, Michael added: “Macca has so much ability, he can do things that others can’t; the way he hits the ball, that’s crossing, long passes and shooting but also the way he carries the ball at speed with the ability to go inside or outside defenders.

“He took on board lots of the feedback we gave him last season regarding his defensive side of the game and that attitude coupled with the ability he’s shown persuaded us that he needed to be one of the first players we agreed with for next season.

“We are very confident that Macca will have a huge influence for us this season and be one of the next players that we play a role in pushing on to a higher level after that."

Many Cinderford Town supporters may not have actually seen Lewis Ellis in a Forester’s shirt last season as he spent the back end of the season out injured with a major stress fracture in his leg.

This makes the performances that he did manage for Town all the more impressive as it was later found that he’d been playing with the injury throughout his games including man of the match performance at Merthyr Town on his debut, an impressive display at Stratford and at home to Biggleswade in a good team display.

"I’ve known Lewis a long time, he’s such a talented player and he will have a big influence for us this season,” Michael said.

“He reads the game, he’s tactically astute and he’s technically accurate on a consistent basis, I can’t wait for him to show everyone at the club what we missed at the end of this season."