Decision to leave Bognor was horrible - but I'm excited by my new Horsham challenge

Telling the Horsham website of the decision to move on after eight years at Nyewood Lane, he said: “It was horrible. The worst decision I’ve had to make.

“I hate making decisions anyway but to tell a club where you’ve been for so long, that you’re going to be moving on, it was a bit emotional, and obviously it wasn’t the nicest conversation to have.

“But, at the same time, once I’d had that conversation, it helped me look forward to see what’s going to happen this year.”

Speaking about joining the Hornets, he said: “I’d been up here with Bognor in the final game before lockdown. It’s a lovely ground and, if you’re going to play on 3G, you might as well make it this one.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to play at Bognor any more, it’s more, if you’ve been somewhere for eight years, you do kind of get a bit comfortable. So, moving on and coming up here, where we’ve already made some good signings, it was a nice thing to be a part of and helps challenge myself to see if I can do it elsewhere.

Tuck quits Bognor“I know a couple of people in the squad already, though I think I’ve only ever played with Gary (Charman), so it’s all new, but everyone seems so friendly so far and I think I fit right in, which is nice.”

Tuck said his diminutive stature may be the talk of the terrace. He told the Horsham sife: “Probably, they’ll look at me and think ‘Who’s that small 12-year-old in the middle of the park’?! But, really, passing is my game. Getting on the ball, trying to dictate play, trying to move the ball and get the team going.”

Tuck's goal in extra-time won the Sussex Senior Cup for Bognor in 2019 when they beat Burgess Hill in the final at the Amex and he'd love more success in the competition with Horsham.

"Since I was at Bognor I’ve played in three finals, and got to three semi-finals, so hopefully I can bring that here," he said. “I didn’t actually score any other goals apart from the one in last year’s final so I couldn’t take much credit but my luck with it hasn’t been too bad, and if we can have a bit of a run in it, that would be nice.”

Tuck said Horsham should be aiming for the Isthmian premier play-offs this season, saying: “With the players already here, and the new signings, minimum we’ve got to be looking at is play-offs.

“If we can get a run where we’re in and around the play-offs, and give ourselves a chance, then you never know what might happen. Even if you don’t go up, you still feel like you’ve achieved something as a team, so play-offs would be amazing at the end of the year.”