RYAN ZICO BLACK has returned to Lancaster City. The 24-year-old left the Nationwide Conference North outfit to join Kettering in November as Paul Gascoigne’s first signing.

However, having played under three managers at that club, he was delighted the opportunity came for him to return to Lancaster.

‘I am really pleased to be back. A lot has changed but I think now, after a long summer, the club is heading in the right direction with the new management team and players,’ Black said. ‘The chairman and the board want to do things the right way and hopefully things are looking up for Lancaster City.

‘I’m itching to get back playing and playing regularly and working with the new management team of Gary Finlay and Micky Mellon, who have both got good pedigrees.’

Black, who played for Guernsey in the 2005 NatWest Island Games, spent just over a season in Lancaster during his previous spell with the club after he left Morecambe.

His base was still in the city when he played for Kettering and, despite having two years left on his contract there, a move back north was always on the cards this summer. He opted for Lancaster ahead of Barrow.

‘When Kettering came in for me, Paul Gascoigne was the manager, the club was going full-time and big things were happening. I was really buzzing when I went there but football has its twists and turns,’ he said.

‘I enjoyed my time there, the fans were great and I could hold my head up high when I left. I played in numerous positions but still managed four goals and we just missed out on the play-offs.

‘I didn’t want to move down there because my friends were up here. You have got to be happy off the pitch and, although I was happy on the pitch at Kettering, I wasn’t off it.’