FORMER Worcester City winger Ray Woods is planning to turn the club's Bilford Road training base into a fortress.

Woods oversees the football development scheme and this season will see the youngsters head to their new headquarters.

It will also mean a new venue for his students who, playing under the name Worcester City 'A', will have the Bilford Road ground as their home for matches in Midland Combination Division Three.

Woods had been in charge of an under 17s side in the Midland Combination Reserve Division last season but it was a step too far for the young players.

"We struggled for much of the season in a league that had some very good sides," he explained.

"We finished bottom but still reached the semi-final of the League Cup before going out to Hinckley United by the odd goal."

The team had previously played in the Worcester and District League Premier Division but Woods admits his side had to look elsewhere.

He said: "We had come as far as we could in the Worcester Prem and were looking for a slightly better standard."

Woods hopes that standard can be found in Division Three of the Midland Combination, especially following their experience of Reserve Division football.

"It certainly helped some of the boys and toughened them up a bit," he added.

"But this will be a new start for us --our first season at Bilford Road. It was nice for the boys to play at St George's Lane, inside a big stadium, but now we need to turn Bilford Road into a fortress."

Bosses at City have decided the 'A' team will play from their new headquarters to ease the pressure on the St George's Lane pitch.

But chairman Dave Boddy said the youngsters were just as important to the club as those looking to steer City to a place in the Nationwide Conference.

"The whole ethos about the football development squad is getting players to come through the ranks and play for the first team," Boddy explained.

"It is also vital for the club's presence within the community with some 80 lads passing through the scheme so far. Not all of these make it with Worcester City but a lot go on to play football elsewhere.

"Playing matches is also vital for their experience, as is being involved with a club such as ours."

Among the players who have progressed through the ranks are defender Shabir Khan and midfielder Liam McDonald, as well as Dan Parker who left the club in the summer.