THERE probably wasn’t much doubt that Marc McGregor would be walking through the gates at St George’s Lane this evening.
The only thing was many would have expected him to head for the door marked ‘Away’.
However, the 31-year-old striker made the switch to Worcester City last week from Weston-super-Mare and will make his debut against his former club.
City manager Richard Dryden is hoping the ex-Oxford United trainee can be the man to solve his goal-scoring woes.
As the St George’s Lane side go into tonight’s Blue Square South clash with the Seasiders (7.45), City have only scored 13 goals in as many league matches.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Worcester are, in fact, creating a hatful of chances which, to the frustration of many, have gone begging.
With three goals in six games for Weston this season, McGregor has already set himself the target of banging home another 15 in the blue and white of City before the end of the campaign.
“Worcester create so many chances and I can’t wait to try and get on the end of them,” the former Forest Green Rovers striker said.
“I have seen the way Worcester play. They like to get the ball forward and into the box and that is something which will really suit me.”
McGregor says he nearly made the move to the Lane a year ago, having forged links with both Dryden and assistant manager Carl Heeley during spells with Tamworth and Hinckley United respectively.
However, the Woodspring Park side wanted to keep hold of the player they deployed at centre-back, centre-midfield and up-front.
With the majority of his last appearances for the Somerset outfit away from the front-line, McGregor can’t wait to get back to terrorising opposition defences again — starting tonight.
“It is ironic how it has fallen,” McGregor said.
“I was probably a victim of my own versatility at Weston which meant I didn’t play up-front as much as I would have liked.
“Now I’m at Worcester, I’m looking at 15 goals and helping them climb up the table.
“No disrespect to Weston, I want them to survive because I had a great time there, but Worcester are a bigger club and should be pushing for the play-offs.”
After leaving Oxford as a teenager, McGregor went to Notts County before once again being released.
He then found himself playing with his friends for Endsleigh, who now ply their trade in Cheltenham League Division One, in the Hellenic League before making the move to Forest Green in 1998.
After two years at the Conference side, he made the £35,000 move to Nuneaton Borough.
He made the switch to Tamworth after three seasons with the Warwickshire club and then left to sign for Weston.
Two years later, McGregor was back on the road again as he joined Hinckley for a year before returning to Weston.
It was in his latest spell with the Seasiders that he became a thorn in Worcester’s side, scoring three goals in the last three meetings.
“Hopefully, I can do the same now that I’m a Worcester player,” he added.
City fans will certainly hope so.
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