CHRIS Pugsley believes there are exciting times ahead after re-joining the Terras’ board as a director.

The accountant held original talks with manager Jason Matthews last season, and has now confirmed his place back in the Weymouth boardroom after being proposed by Nigel Biddlecombe and seconded by Alan Pepperell.

Speaking exclusively to Echosport, the former Dorchester Town chairman and Wey-mouth financial director explained his reasons for his return to football. “I wouldn’t have come back if the club wasn’t well run with the budgets and its ambitions in what it is looking to achieve,” he told Echosport.

“I have just come in to work a little bit on the football with Jason (Matthews) and get the commercial side a little bit more professionally organised.

“Jason spoke to me when he first became the manager after Brendon King left.

“I had a meeting with him after he took over as manager permanently and he asked me if I would get back involved with the club. I said I would like to because he is a great guy and he is very enthusiastic.

“A few things happened in my life which put everything on hold for a while but at the beginning of this season I had a meeting with Tony Greaves, Alan Pepperell and a few others and looked at what was going on with the budgets.

“It is all looking good there and it is all manageable now so I agreed to get back in again.”

Pusgley insisted that one of the deciding factors for his comeback was the passion for the club and drive for success of player-manager Matthews.

He added: “I worked with Jason when I was at Dorchester and when I was at Weymouth originally, he is a great guy and he is a good mate of mine. I probably wouldn’t have come back if it wasn’t for Jason.”

Pugsley also paid tribute to the volunteers and supporters of the club, who have stuck with Weymouth through thick and thin financially.

“The people that were there when I was at the club originally are still there now and it’s really nice to see,” he added.

“They are amazing, they haven’t changed and still work endlessly for the club.”

Looking at the long term ambitions for the Terras, Pugsley added: “The board of directors we have now are desperate to get the club into the next league up as a minimum but they will not do it at the expense of the club getting in trouble financially again.

“It is all done properly, everything is monitored and it’s all manageable.

“When we did our original budgets this season we were budgeting on around 550 people per home match and we are well in front of that already.

“If that keeps going then the money will go into Jason’s budget because the budget to run the club is covered, so anything we can make that’s extra towards the end of the season we will make available.

“I know with the budget we have got we can survive in the Conference South, I have been there and I have seen it happen and I know what the budgets are, but it’s one thing surviving, it’s another thing getting there.”

Commenting on Pugsley’s appointment, director and vice-chairman Tony Greaves added: “We are all very pleased that Chris has come back to join the board and we are all looking forward to working with him for the future of Weymouth Football Club, which is looking bright, and hopefully with Chris’s addition to it, even brighter still.

“Everything is going in the right direction and with Chris’s knowledge and connections we are really looking forward to it.”