Jack Mills feels he was frozen out at Wealdstone and will be hoping to dish out some payback when Hayes & Yeading United travel to Grosvenor Vale this weekend.
The 22-year-old returned for a second stint at United last month after moving to their Conference South rivals in the summer.
Mills was a regular for the first few weeks of the season under Stones manager Gordon Bartlett, but the team struggled to find their feet in a new division following promotion.
Bartlett had to make changes to try and steer the club out of the relegation zone and tall midfielder Mills was one of the casualties of a rebuilding project.
Saturday’s FA Trophy first round tie gives him an early chance for a reunion with his former employers and Mills says he is happy to be back wearing the red shirt after a productive season last time round.
He said: “I played the first 10 games and then all of a sudden he [Bartlett] left me out of the squad.
“I said I’d had enough and ending coming back to Hayes.
“I’m very happy to be back. I just want to get game time and enjoy my football.
“The last thing I want is to turn up on a Saturday and not enjoy my football.
“We’ve got a mixture this year of youth and experience and that is what you need in this league.
“My position doesn’t really matter. I’ve come here to play in midfield but as long as I’m enjoying my football that’s all that matters.”
Mills was an unused substitute on Saturday as Hayes & Yeading were comfortably beaten 3-0 by leaders Boreham Wood, with Nathan Elder coming off the bench after re-signing for the club this week.
Phil Babb’s side had the chance to return to winning ways last night (Tuesday) when they were due to visit high-flying Gosport Borough.
Wealdstone faced a very different proposition at the weekend in the form of relegation candidates Staines Town, coming away 1-0 winners in a fiery affair that saw two Swans players and manager Marcus Gayle sent off.
The game’s solitary goal came during an opening 10-minute spell of dominance from the hosts, Daniel Brown finishing off at the back post after a flowing Stones move in what could prove a vital three points come the end of the season.
Boss Bartlett said of this weekend’s clash with United: “We were very disappointed at St Albans earlier in the season and we owed them one. We’ve got that one done.
“At Hayes & Yeading, we were very disappointed with the result earlier in the season because I thought we were better than them.
“That’s another one we want to put to bed.”
