Jimmy Armson on his slow start to life at AFC Telford, and why he decided to join

The 35-year-old made the decision to leave Brackley Town in the summer, where he played more than 340 games across eight years, six of which came under the management of Kevin Wilkin.

Armson began the season in the heart of the Telford midfield alongside last season’s fan’s favourites Jordan Piggott and Remi Walker, but made some costly errors that led to opposition goals as the Bucks stuttered in the opening stages of the campaign.

“I came (to Telford) struggling with a bit of a groin problem and no one really knew what it was, and at the start of the season I made some mistakes playing as a holding midfielder when I was probably trying too hard,” the Bucks midfielder revealed. “It’s something I’d had for a while so I went for a scan and found out it was a hernia, but they said it was quite small, and I couldn’t have an operation for it.”

Armson continued: “In my mind that helped me realise that I was fine, and that nothing could be done about it so despite it being a bit sore I kind of just needed to get on and play with it.

“We were able to manage my training load a little bit once we were aware of it, and I think we’ve started to see a difference within that.

“I feel like I’ve performed consistently well since the middle of December, and certainly in 2025 I’ve started scoring more goals which is what I always expected of myself.”

Another injury has kept Armson out of action in recent weeks, but he returned to the bench for Saturday's 2-0 victory over AFC Sudbury.

Wilkin left him as an unused substitute to help ease him back into action and it is that relationship between manager and player that convinced Armson to reunite with the Bucks boss last summer.

As well as those six years at Brackley, the pair also worked together at Nuneaton Borough, and are now back together again in Shropshire this term.

“The relationship with the gaffer – I’ve played nearly 15 years with him at Nuneaton and Brackley – so I knew what I was going to get,” the midfielder said. “I think the success we had together helped because we’ve got a lot of good memories together, and I think that would be the same with Stoz (Kyle Storer) and Gudge (Alex Gudger).”

Armson continued: “I know what training is going to be like, I know that if I pick the phone up to him that he’s going to answer, and I know he’s just a good person.

“He’s someone who I like to be around socially, but also someone who I know that when it’s time to work he won’t give out any preferential treatment and I think that’s what keeps people coming back to him.

“Coming in was quite a new experience for me because when I left Nuneaton there were seven of us who all went to Solihull Moors, and then when I went to Brackley there were three or four of us who all went together too.

“It was different for me, and I remember going into the first session, where usually I’ll be one of the loud, chirpy ones, I felt that I had to ease my way in.

“Thankfully it’s a great group and I’ve settled in and embedded myself quite quickly which is good.”