GOALKEEPER Paul Bastock is ready to help save St Albans City from relegation after joining from Rushden & Diamonds. Bastock left Saints in the summer to remain in the Blue Square Premier league but after a difficult time is delighted to be back at Clarenc

GOALKEEPER Paul Bastock is ready to help save St Albans City from relegation after joining from Rushden & Diamonds.

Bastock left Saints in the summer to remain in the Blue Square Premier league but after a difficult time is delighted to be back at Clarence Park. He said: "I am thrilled actually. It is a great club and I hope we can perform as we did last time when Colin Lippiatt and I were there, to help get the club out of trouble and back to where it should be at the right end of the table. This is a good club with good people."

When Bastock arrived at City under former boss Colin Lippiatt in 2004 the club were looking doomed for relegation. Lippiatt's masterstroke to snap up for the legendary former Boston United goalkeeper soon paid dividends and after a sensational run of form City eased to comfortable safety. The upward surge then continued when they were promoted in 2005/06. Bastock was surprised to get the call to return to City. He said: "It was out of the blue to be honest. I went to Rushden & Diamonds which I thought was a good move but it has been an absolute nightmare. When I first went there it was all rosy and we were seven games unbeaten. The gaffer then decided to drop me for some reason.

"I was supposed to go back to Boston and signed my release forms but the gaffer put a stop to that. I came back into the team and kept five clean sheets out of seven games and Boston went and signed another goalkeeper. Then Rushden signed another goalkeeper and I am not chuffed with the way things have gone there so I was delighted when I got the call from St Albans City."

Bastock joins Simon Martin, Paul Hakim, Dean Cracknell, Lee Clarke, Scott Cousins and Ben Martin from his previous time at the club and he believes that manager Steve Castle has enough quality at his disposal to reach safety. The veteran goalkeeper said: "We have done it before and there is no reason why we cannot do it again. Scott Cousins rang me and I have kept in touch with Lee Clarke. I have kept following the club and they are a good bunch of lads. The team is a very good team but they are underperforming. There is no way the club should be in the position they are."

Bastock is expected to go straight into the side for the trip to Weston-super-Mare casting doubts over the future of current number one Nick Eyre. Bastock said: "Nick Eyre has done really well but things are not going right at the moment. That is football for you, sometimes it kicks you when you are down. That is the way it goes. Weston is the first one on Saturday and it is a big game. They are not doing brilliantly so there is a good chance for us to go there and get three points."

Fans will no doubt applaud the arrival of the classy goalkeeper who may bring much needed experience and leadership at the back. Bastock is happy to be able to continue his fine relationship with the Clarence Park faithful. He said: "They are a good set of fans. I had a good rapport with them. We are in a very difficult position and hopefully I can bring a bit of experience at the back and rattle a few ear holes.