Frampton on Severn is one of those wonderfully old fashioned, yet beautiful, villages that help to make Gloucestershire the great county that it is.

There’s the impressive village green that boasts three ponds, the two traditional pubs situated perfectly right on the green and the thriving football club that play their home games just a long goal kick from the very heart of village life.

And while Frampton is clearly right up there as one of the better places to visit in Gloucestershire, the football club, equally, are clearly one of the better clubs in the county.

That’s because the team ply their trade in the County League where they rub shoulders with the likes of Hardwicke, Broadwell Amateurs and Stonehouse Town.

“Yes, it’s a strong division,” said Frampton United manager Steve Jackson. “It’s got a bit squeezed in the last few seasons because the criteria to get into the Hellenic League has got much tougher.

“You need things like floodlights and we’re not in a position to fund floodlights. We’ve also got residents next to the ground and you have to respect them as well.”

It means, certainly for the foreseeable future, that Frampton won’t be playing any higher than their current level and that is something that Jackson, who took over as manager at the start of the season, is very comfortable with.

“We finished runners-up last season and that would have been good enough to get us promoted,” he said, “but everything must be sustainable and it is for us in the County League.”

Jackson was born and bred in Frampton – he lives in the village with his wife Becky and young daughters Ava and Amelie – and his parents, Kevin and Anne, are still heavily involved with the football club.

The club mean a lot to the family and one of the things that particularly pleases the new boss is that 12 of the 16-strong first-team squad are from the village.

“That’s fantastic,” said Jackson, who explained that a big part of the reason for that was the club’s close relationship with Frampton Youth Football Club.

“We’re separate entities but very closely linked,” Jackson added. “They were created by chairman Ian Palmer who is a figurehead for football in the village.”

And while Palmer may be Frampton’s ‘Mr Football’, Jackson isn’t too far behind, because the now 32-year-old played in the youth team’s first ever game back in the mid-90s.

“I played centre midfield,” he said, “always have done.”

So was he player of the match?

“I’d like to think so,” he laughed, “at least that’s my story! To be honest, I can’t remember whether we won or lost.”

And while the details from that game are not clear in Jackson’s mind, what soon became clear was that Jackson was a pretty decent footballer, good enough to be part of Bristol City’s academy for two years before being released at the age of 16.

“I never really settled,” he admitted.

He returned home for a spell with Frampton before joining Hardwicke, where he won the County League in 2007/08 and then the Hellenic League Division One West. “In those days you didn’t need floodlights to get promoted,” he chuckled.

His footballing career was on an upward curve and he spent several years playing for Bishop’s Cleeve under Paul Collicutt in the Southern League, before returning to Frampton in 2015 “to play with my mates” after a short spell at Shortwood United.

So what type of midfielder was he?

“I liked to get in the box and score goals, I was a bit Frank Lampard-ish,” he laughed. “In one season at Hardwicke I scored 28 goals in 30 games.”

Those figures are impressive – they’re more Messi than Lampard! – and his experience of playing at a decent level has certainly not done him any harm since jumping into the Frampton United hot-seat.

“I took over from Lee Driver-Dickerson who left to become assistant manager at Slimbridge,” explained Jackson. “He’d been manager for 10 years and was brilliant for the club, taking them from the Stroud League to the County League.”

Driver-Dickerson and Jackson are good mates – they play cricket together at the village cricket club which is just a big six-hit from the football ground.

And while Jackson watched his pal operate at close quarters for a couple of seasons, he has also had his own experience of management to call on as well.

“I managed Frampton Youth when I was 17,” he said. “I took a side from under-7s all the way through to under-18s, so in many ways I was a natural successor to Lee.”

Jackson still plays when needed but prefers to give the younger players game-time whenever he can.

“I’m at the end of my career and these young lads just want to play,” he said.

And quite a few of those young lads were part of the team that Jackson started in the Frampton Youth set-up, all those years ago in the early noughties.

So who are the players who are very much the present and future of Frampton United?

“Nathan Dennis,” said Jackson. “He’s a centre-half and he’s one of the best in the league. He’s 6ft 4in, tough and got a very talented left foot.

“Manolo Marquez is our centre-midfielder and he’s come through the village youth teams. He’s a brilliant success story.

“Centre-forward Ryan Vincent has been scoring a goal a game. He’s Harry Kane-esque, he’s got great movement and is a great finisher.

“Then there’s Matt Cook who has been with Frampton all the way through and can play right-back or right midfield.

“And Liam O’Neill has been our captain for seven years. He’s a centre-back and has only played for Frampton, as has Chris Bulley, a pacey, tricky left-winger.”

When Jackson spoke to The Local Answer, Frampton were eighth in the league but with games in hand on all bar one of the seven teams above them.

“So far, so good,” said Jackson, “I’m really happy with the way things are going. We lost five players at the start of the season who wanted to play at a higher level and we’ve suffered a couple of serious injuries.

“The expectation was that we’d be rebuilding but the young lads have come in and done really well.”

The club run two other men’s teams with the second team flying high in Stroud League Division One.

“We’re a good old-fashioned set-up,” said Jackson. “Most of the guys are from the village and everything is sustainable, it’s great to be part of.”

There are also plans to introduce a girls’ team into the village at some stage.

“It’s on the cards, potentially,” said Jackson.

And with two young girls of his own, what’s the betting that the man in charge when they eventually play their first game is a certain Steve Jackson!