IT was confirmed this month that Aidan Day would be making a dramatic return to his beloved Campion after only a year away.

In the summer of 2021, Day decided to seek pastures new as he exited Lee Ashforth’s men to join up with Premier Division side, Eccleshill United.

At Eccleshill the experienced midfield man racked up a tally of 13 league goals and he was instrumental to Lee Elam’s side having their best season to date, eventually being edged out in the play-off final.

After such a standout campaign for United, a few eyebrows may have been raised when it was confirmed Day would be dropping down to Campion’s lower league ( NCEL Division One), however, Campion have captured eight players from the division above with a promotion chasing campaign in their sight and Day his fully on board with the operation.

Speaking to the T&A, the former Campion captain said: “First of all, it's really good to be back at the club and in all honesty, I never really wanted to leave.

"At the time I felt I wanted a bit of a change and Campion were not at the level they should have been, so I did feel like the change was necessary.

"But, I made the decision to return this month from Eccleshill even though we had a great season together, both on the personal side of things and as a collective. I'm sure my return to Campion has raised a few eye brows but I firmly believe I've made the right choice at this stage in my career."

Day added: "Not only that, I've kept in close contact with the managers (Lee Ashforth and James Bicknell), I have a great history with the club and I've been keeping a close eye on the transfer activity which has been going on. I'm extremely impressed with what I've been seeing.

"We've signed eight players from the league above, including myself and Marcus Day, who scored 16 league goals in the division above last season. The drive the club has shown to improve on last season is what has enticed me to come back to Campion.

"I'm massively optimistic about the season now. I've been to a couple of the pre-season sessions and I've seen how talented the group is; it doesn't just look good on paper but it looks great in the flesh and I believe we can seriously challenge for a promotion spot. It's exciting times for Campion and I'm over the moon with my decision to return."

With the arrival of an abundance of new players it can sometimes throw up problems for managers and the chemistry between a team, but Day believes the fresh faces will only act as a bonus to the Bradford based side.

He said: "I agree, it can cause issues between a squad, but in this case I don't see it because Lee (Ashforth) has kept a good core to the side. Also, the players that have been brought in have played together at previous clubs. Me and Marcus (Day) have played together and then the club have brought in three players from Garforth, so I think the chemistry will already be there.

"We are all looking forward to kicking off the Yorkshire Trophy next weekend."