Step 5 football returns with new name for Newark FC and Collingham groundshare — hat trick of announcements also puts ex-pro Nathan Arnold in the dugout

Step 5 football is returning to Newark for next season.

Newark FC is back in the district with a new name and a new ground under the stewardship of former Football League club chairman Steff Wright.

Successful businessman Wright, from Collingham, who spent ten years as a director and chairman of Lincoln City FC, has found Newark FC a new name of Newark and Sherwood United and, a new home at Collingham FC.

The aim of the game is now to encourage the fans put off by the extra time it took to travel to Basford for home matches back and to recruit talented footballers plying their trade elsewhere.

Newark FC were driven out of town by the loss of their Lowfields ground to a housing developer and have been playing home fixtures at Basford, which is more than 20 miles away.

The travel time affected the fan base, but those days are a thing of the past after chairman Wright brokered the deal with Central Midlands Football League Saturday side Collingham, who benefit from enhancements to their Station Road ground that will include a stand.

Wright, whose ambitions stretch to professional and a stadium within the district, said the move was mutually beneficial for both Newark and Sherwood United and Collingham FC.

Newark and Sherwood United said in a statement: "With the support of our chairman and volunteers at Collingham FC, step five football is coming back to Newark and Sherwood for the 2022/23 season."

Newark FC, nicknamed the Highwaymen have seen four name changes since it started life around a century ago as Worthington Simpsons, then IDP Newark, before changing to Newark Flowserve and then Newark FC.

And there's news from the dugout too as former Newark Town manager Nathan Arnold, who the Advertiser reported recently wanted to test his abilities at step 5 takes the reins.

In a short tenure at Newark Town, ex-pro Arnold earned the Blues promotion from the Central Midlands League North to the United Counties League Division One in a single season.

Newark and Sherwood United said: "Newark and Sherwood United are pleased to announce Nathan Arnold as their new manager.

"Nathan will bring his backroom staff including Dennis Rhule, who will continue in his role as assistant.

"Having steered Newark Town to promotion last season, Nathan is keen to continue his working relationship with Steff Wright.

"The opportunity at Step 5 and this new project aligns with both his, and the club's ambitions going forward.

"The club would like to thanks Paul Rawdon for stepping in to keep the club alive during the second part of this season and we wish him well at his next club."

Arnold said: "I am looking forward to building on the success we have had.

"Being a part of this new chapter is exciting and it is an opportunity to help drive football forward within the district.

"Our ethos is to create opportunities for local players who are currently playin g further afield. I am also pleased for the supporters who can now watch Step 5 football closer to home."