BOSS Chris Cornes hopes Worcester City’s local lads can etch their names in history after years of waiting for a chance to shine.
As traditional giants of the Non-League game, City would often cast the net far beyond the patch in pursuit of success, sometimes drawing criticism for not giving enough opportunities to homegrown talent.
Financial concerns while groundsharing outside the city led to voluntary relegation to Step 5 in 2017 and when the reset did not bring expected levels of success, the Worcester-based players bore the brunt more than most.
Players from all corners of the Midlands came and went during some patchy seasons but Cornes, a Worcester man himself, steadied the ship last season and enticed city boys like Kyle Belmonte, Jamie Insall and Logan Stoddart to become to beating heart of the club’s Hellenic League challenge.
Favourites
An 18th straight win in all competitions secured the Hellenic League’s Floodlit Cup in midweek and alongside being hot favourites for the Premier Division crown, a two-legged Isuzu FA Vase semi-final with Great Wakering Rovers is all that stands between the hometown heroes and City’s first trip to Wembley.
“It has been said for years that Worcester players haven’t had a chance for whatever reason,” said Cornes.
“Individual managers will have their reasons for that but I wanted to make it more home-based, to give the players and fans that proper connection.
“They see each other in the pubs on Saturday night, in the curry house or out shopping and I wanted that, for everyone to be on the same page to try to get the club out of the rut that we were in when we arrived last season. We wanted the right people for the club on and off the pitch.
“Even the lads who come from Gl
