Chris Hyem insists he is proud of his part in the Godmanchester Rovers revival.

Hyem stepped in to his first managerial appointment in October, 2016 with the David Wilson Homes Ground club in crisis.

A mass exodus of players that summer followed the departure of boss Matt Clements – now the St Neots Town chief – and his replacement Adie Cambridge then resigned early in the campaign with Rovers in Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division relegation bother.

Hyem steered them to mid-table safety before becoming player-assistant boss to Ollie Drake ahead of last season when Rovers enjoyed a terrific campaign to finish fourth, but the 31 year-old will now focus solely on playing next season.

“The first job when I came in as player-manager was to stabilise the club,” said Hyem. “They’d lost their manager and virtually every player in the summer, and then had another manager resign only a few weeks into last season.

“Sometimes it’s who you know rather than what you know and I’m lucky to know a lot of good players who had done brilliantly for the club in the past.

“It was great to be able to bring two or three of them back to help us push on into mid-table that season and ensure we weren’t caught up in a relegation battle.

“Managers can have all the knowledge and all the tactical awareness in the world, but it is all about getting lads to want to play for you at this level.

“I didn’t ever see myself as a manager long-term so it was great that Ollie came in last summer and I’ve really enjoyed working with him.

“I felt he would benefit from my input and my contacts from playing in this league for a number of years, and I’m pleased to have been able to help put the Goddy band back together with a lot of other former players returning.

“We showed what we are capable of doing by finishing fourth in the Premier Division after a really tough start. Next season we’re looking to challenge for promotion again and hopefully I can be a big part of it on the pitch.

“I’m only 31, I’m completely injury free and I feel the fittest I’ve been in years, so I want to focus on playing.

“Ollie is a really good young manager and he has a great bloke in Errol to work with him.”

Errol McCammon, already a part of the Rovers coaching staff, becoming Drake’s number two.