Westcarr out to provide goals and leadership for new-look Alfreton

The former Notts County, Chesterfield and Mansfield attacker scored 22 times for the struggling Reds last season and has committed to the club for another year.

He’s expecting a different experience from the 2017/18 campaign, with a new man in charge and an influx of new faces.

“I really enjoyed it last season to be honest but we didn’t get the results we should have and a lot of things went wrong,” he said.

“It’s going to be a lot different to last year.

“There’s a new manager in charge, obviously he’s signing players, he’s got rid of a load.

“He wants to play football the right way.

“It’s a new era now and hopefully we can try and make a better fist of it than we did last season.”

Westcarr’s extended stay at the Impact Arena has excited boss John McDermott, who highlights his impressive goal tally in a difficult 2016/17 season as one of the reasons he was so keen to retain the forward.

The 32-year-old would like to surpass that tally, but there are more important things he’s out to achieve.

“The target for me is always to score but the main thing is to win games, get out of the league,” he said.

“That gives you prestige, a bit more money and everyone is happy, you can’t beat days like that.

“Goals wise, personally I’d like to get a few goals on the way to that.”

Having played close to 300 games in the Football League, Westcarr possesses the kind of CV that makes his voice worth listening to in the dressing room.

And he hopes to help influence the new-look Alfreton side, like he did last season’s squad.

“Towards the end of last season I had to do a lot of that, just to get us over the line,” he said.

“The older you get, there’s more stuff on your shoulders, experience on difficult nights helps and hopefully I can bring that even more so this year.”

Pre-season began in earnest at the weekend with a return to training and although the summer will bring reunions with a number of his former clubs, including Nottingham Forest where it all began, Westcarr is mostly looking forward to the ‘real’ action kicking off.

“I’m quite happy to be back training and playing football again,” he said.

“Pre season is difficult, it’s getting fit, trying to play as many minutes as possible.

“It gives you that base but you’re always looking forward to the first game of the season.

“It’s irrelevant really, the results in the pre-season games, it’s just about fitness.

“It’s all about being ready for the first game of the season.”