Cirencester Town manager James Mortimer-Jones is looking to build on their much-improved form in the second half of last season as they look ahead to the new campaign.

The new Hellenic League Premier Division season is almost upon us and Mortimer-Jones, who took over from John Brough at the start of last season, is in upbeat mood.

The club finished 15^th in the 20-strong division last time out and Mortimer-Jones said: “Realistically, we want to improve on last season, that’s a given.

“Our form from mid-season was good, we won team of the month when we had a red-hot spell.”

They also won the Hellenic League’s Wiseman Floodlit Cup, beating Westfields 5-3 in a two-legged final, and Mortimer-Jones continued: “That kept our season alive, we ended it on a high.

“This season we want to be in and around the play-offs, I can’t see any reason why we can’t be.”

Not that the 43-year-old is under any illusions.

“There are some good teams in the division – Corsham, Fairford, Roman Glass, Highworth, Mangotsfield and the Hereford-based teams – so we know it will be tough,” he said.

But it’s a challenge that Mortimer-Jones is certainly up for at a club he served as a player and assistant manager before taking on the top job.

The one-time midfielder, who lives in Fairford, joined the club from Didcot Town at the age of 28 and he admitted: “I never imagined I’d still be at the club now, I thought I’d be here for just a couple of seasons!”

His move came after he’d scored for Didcot in an FA Cup tie against Cirencester and in his first game for his new club he scored against his former club.

“That didn’t go down very well,” he recalled. “It was the best goal of my career, it was a volley into the top corner from 30-35 yards.”

Brian Hughes was manager of Cirencester in those days and Mortimer-Jones, a stonemason, built a strong relationship with the former Cheltenham Town midfielder.

“His man-management and the way he motivated you was brilliant,” Mortimer-Jones said. “You’d run through a brick wall for him. We won the Southern League Division One South and West title in 2013/14.”

That was one of the highs in Cirencester’s 136-year history and while Mortimer-Jones learned plenty from Hughes, he also learned plenty from the likes of Charlie Griffin and Brough, both of whom he worked alongside as assistant manager.

It was Griffin who gave him his chance to take on more responsibility and Mortimer-Jones said: “I’m really grateful to him, he was a great bloke, very, very infectious.

“His attitude was if you score three, we’ll score four. He liked flair players and was always looking for a bit of magic, he liked to play good football.”

Former Cheltenham Town defender John Brough, who took over from Griffin, was more pragmatic, with Mortimer-Jones saying: “He’s the most organised person in football I know.

“He treated everyone the same and his attitude was win at all costs. And if you’re not having a good day, don’t lose.”

Brough left Cirencester when the club took voluntary relegation from the Southern League’s Division One Central at the end of 2023/24, a decision that was taken after they’d finished sixth and just missed out on the play-offs.

It was made for financial reasons – the club are determined to be sustainable – and saw a big turnover in the playing staff.

The early weeks of last season were tough and Mortimer-Jones needed to call on all of his experience to get through that rocky period.

“There’s no shame in using other people’s methods,” he said. “It’s so important to use bits of advice and stuff that you have learned along the way.

“But I have my own ideas. I’m a big believer in doing things as professionally as I can but I also want the players to enjoy their football, I try to instil a no-fear attitude.

“If they’re at a club they want to play for, I think that raises their game.”

Cirencester play their home games on a 4G pitch at the Corinium Stadium and Mortimer-Jones continued: “We’ve got a really good pitch so we try to get the ball down and play.

“But you’ve got to have a squad that can play more ways than one because you can be playing away on a Tuesday night on a muddy pitch.”

Mortimer-Jones is ambitious, but that ambition is focused 100 per cent on Cirencester Town.

“I’ve always said my only interest is Cirencester Town,” he said. “I want to do my best for the club, I have no ambition to climb the pyramid with another club.

“I have a good relationship with everyone at the club. Whether I’m here another season, five seasons or longer, I will always come back and watch them play.”

Mortimer-Jones’ son George, a centre-forward and a pupil at Farmor’s School, will play for the club’s under-14s this season, a team that his dad coaches.

George is a familiar face around the club on the club’s training nights and clearly has the same love for football as his dad.

And Mortimer-Jones knows the importance of those formative years.

He was born in Denmark – his dad was in the RAF – and he was part of the youth set-up at Shrewsbury Town before the family re-located to Oxfordshire. He jumped straight into senior football with Carterton Town at the age of 16, something he took in his stride.

“I absolutely loved it,” he said. “There were so many good role models around non-league football, they took me under their wing.

“I’d do anything they asked me to on the pitch and they looked after me. I had a little bit of talent but they saw I gave it my all.”

He went on to win the Hellenic League Premier Division title with North Leigh before switching to Didcot after impressing in a pre-season friendly game for them.

“They asked me if I’d play against Reading, who were then a Premier League side,” recalled Mortimer-Jones.

“Reading had a proper team out – Kevin Doyle, the Hunt brothers [Noel and Stephen], [James] Harper and [Dave] Kitson – they hammered us 9-0.”

Despite the result, Mortimer-Jones must have done something right that day because he soon became a Didcot player, and he’s clearly still doing things right today.