SCOTT Rogers admits he felt guilty for pulling out of a move to Conference South Weston-super-Mare at the last minute – but the new Chippenham Town midfielder couldn’t turn down the opportunity of a family reunion with former Tiverton Town teammate Nathan Rudge.

The 32-year-old, who has joined the Bluebirds from Newport County, is the second cousin and godson of former Tivvy manager Martyn Rogers, Rudge’s father-in-law.

Rogers has a special place in Tiverton folklore after coming off the bench to score the winning goal for the Devon side in 1999 as they beat Bedlington Terriers 1-0 to retain the FA Vase at Wembley.

And the former Forest Green Rovers and Eastleigh man is backing Rudge to be a success as Chippenham’s player-manager.

“I felt a bit bad making a phone call to Weston because I had agreed to sign for them but my circumstances had changed because I’ve just had a little girl (Mya Rose) five weeks ago and when I spoke to Nathan and Rich (Fey), they sold it to me really,” said Rogers.

“Their enthusiasm rubbed off on me and we had a bit of the old banter from all those years ago so I thought ‘why not give it a go?’ – I’ve got a good feeling about it.

“Nathan and I had a successful team when we were both playing at Tiverton in the Dr Martens Premier and you can see how desperate he is to do well.

“Everyone needs a bit of time but I think no matter what, Nathan and Rich will end up being a good management duo.”

Rogers is relishing a fresh start at Hardenhuish Park and added: “I’ve always gone to a different club every few years and I don’t think it does any harm to keep proving yourself to different people.

“I’m just hard-working and want to win games. I’ve got on wherever I’ve been because I’m an honest player.

“Iain Harvey’s a good friend of mine and I know a lot of the other players from playing in this area.

“I do honestly think that getting the team spirit right will be half the battle and if we’ve got 11 mates out on the pitch, we’ll be hard to beat.