WIVENHOE Town manager Julian Dicks says it has been refreshing to be part of a 'proper club'.Dicks - who returned from his home in Spain to take over the financially struggling Essex club last October - began with a series of heavy defeats, but has slowly turned his young outfit into one that can win matches.

WIVENHOE Town manager Julian Dicks says it has been refreshing to be part of a 'proper club'.

Dicks - who returned from his home in Spain to take over the financially struggling Essex club last October - began with a series of heavy defeats, but has slowly turned his young outfit into one that can win matches.

Victories over Haverhill, Walsham and Wisbech in recent weeks have sealed the club's Ridgeons League Premier Division survival just months after the Broad Lane-based club faced bankruptcy.

The former West Ham left-back said: “This is my first job in football management and it's been refreshing. It's great to welcome the local age group teams and also to see so many families enjoying the game together.

“The football itself is competitive and the club's ambitious - I wouldn't have it any other way - but we want everyone to be a part of it. Grassroots clubs like Wivenhoe can keep football alive in this country.”

- For more on Wivenhoe Town's return to winning ways, see Saturday's East Anglian Daily Times.