Graham Hutchison sniffs out Telford's clash

But there will be no sentiment towards them tomorrow when the Halifax man aims to clinch National League North safety for AFC Telford United.

The 23-year-old centre-back spent 18 months with Worcester, helping them to a memorable FA Cup run when they beat Coventry City.

They ended up going out to Scunthorpe in round two, after a record-breaking penalty shoot-out of 32 spot-kicks that ended 14-13 to the Iron.

Hutchison moved to Worcester on loan and made it permanent when he left Birmingham City, where he had progressed through the academy.

The Scot admits National League North was a different ball game – yet the making of him.

He said: "It was the coming of me as a man. I remember my second game, it was at Boston and within the first 30 seconds a ball went up to the striker and he dropped his elbow on me and it broke my nose.

"It was the first time I'd done it and it was pretty painful at the time. Coming from academy football at Birmingham it was a bit of a shock – but being a centre-back in non-league, it's what you expect.

"It was a big, steep learning curve for me and I learned the non-league game is very different from the pro game.

"But, from the moment I went there, I really enjoyed it, so the next season when I was leaving Birmingham, it was a no-brainer to join them.

"The first season there was difficult in that it was similar to this – a bit of a relegation battle. But then, after that, we really started to build something.

"I made some friends there who will probably remain friends with for the rest of my life such as George Williams, who's now at Barnsley and still my best friend, and we had a lot of success with the FA Cup run."

As with recent Telford loanee Harry Burgoyne, Hutchison is a huge champion of non-league as a breeding ground for young players.

He said: "I always tell any young lad, if you want to learn about the game, get yourself in non-league.

"Academy football is good for the technical side but in terms about learning the game, non-league is awesome.

"I've broken my nose a few times since, but I had a straight nose until I went to Worcester! I got a proper education in football and it did me the world of good going there."

Hutchison has fond memories of his time at Worcester, but insists he will be going all out to beat them tomorrow.

He said: "It's like any other game for me. I've still got a couple of friends there such as Wayne Thomas but I think he's suspended, which is a shame as I was looking forward to playing against him.

"But I've got no other focus other than getting three points for Telford. We want the points to, potentially, put our situation to bed.

"We got a clean sheet on Tuesday (at Brackley) so that wasn't the worst result. It will be nice to see everyone after the game – but until that final whistle goes I'm only concentrating on doing all I can for Telford."