Bicester Town could be set to make a surprise return to senior football, four years after the club folded, writes MATTHEW BRUCE.

A dispute with landlords Bicester Sports Association over their tenure at their former Oxford Road home forced the club to fold in 2011.

But an application has been made to the FA for a reformed Bicester Town to join the Uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 next season.

They will learn their fate when the FA Leagues Committee announce the make-up of the non-league pyramid’s steps 5-7 today, but secretary Roger Wise is hopeful they will be successful.

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“We spoke to (general manager) Brian King about rejoining the Hellenic League and he seemed quite keen to have us back,” he said.

“Because we’re applying to join above step seven we’ve had to make a special application to the FA and we’ve been to Wembley to make our case, so we’re anxiously awaiting their decision now.”

A groundshare arrangement with Premier Division neighbours Ardley United has already been agreed, while experienced duo Eddie Nix and John Prpa, formerly of Old Woodstock Town, have been appointed as joint managers.

Wise believes that the future now looks bright for the club, saying: “It had been four years since we disbanded and we felt that enough time had gone by and we hadn’t done any- thing.

“With the town growing so substantially, we felt there was a lot of scope for a football club to be successful here.

“We’ve had lots of interest from people in the town and from sponsors.

“We’ve appointed managers, we have a committee in place and we’ve had a lot of interest shown by players who are keen to come back to the Bicester area.

“Everything is in place and in most directions it’s looking fairly positive at the moment.”

Although a return to the town itself remains a distant dream, Wise believes the club will have a positive effect on the town.

“We want to develop football in the town,” he said.

“It’s not just about entering a first team in the Hellenic League.

“The whole point is to have boys’, girls’, women’s and men’s football all under the banner of Bicester Town and engage the whole community.”