EX-BLUES captain Adam Hinshelwood is back in football after joining non-league Hastings United as assistant manager.

The former defender was forced to retire from playing last season at the age of 26 due to a persistent knee injury.

But he answered the call to help Hastings’ flagging fortunes from manager Jason Hopkinson as his assistant recovers from illness.

And he’s had an instant impact, winning both of his first two games after a disastrous run of form saw the Kent club slide into the relegation zone off the back of just one win in 21 games.

Hinshelwood initially came across Hopkinson while doing some coaching with his uncle at Brighton’s centre of excellence.

He said: “He called me up out of the blue to offer me the job and I was delighted to get the call.

“It’s pretty much temporary at the moment. I’ve just come in until the end of the season and we’ll see how I get on. There might be the possibility to take over as manager next season. At the moment we’ve got a few matches to stay in the league we’re in. We’ll put all our focus on that.”

A 3-1 win in a relegation six-pointer at Folkestone Invicta steered Hastings out the bottom four, after a 1-0 victory against Billericay in Hinshelwood’s first game in the dugout.

Despite being at a lower standard he is used to, having captained Brighton and Aldershot Town as well as Wanderers, Hinshelwood is happy to be back in the game.

He said: “I never got far away from football. I was doing coaching but to be involved in the dressing room and being in with a group of lads again is great.

“I couldn’t do too much at the beginning because I was on crutches for a while. I’ve just been scratching around doing bits of work here and there, doing coaching and some radio stuff with Brighton.

“Coaching is something I want to get involved in. I want to be a League manager one day.”

When he was forced to hang up his boots Hinshelwood said he was hoping to watch the side he supported as a boy, Portsmouth, in action more regularly.

But he said: “I haven’t been able to get there much. I’ve been watching Brighton a lot for the radio but that’s probably just as well as they’ve been flying and playing some great stuff.”

And he backed Wanderers to win promotion from League Two come the end of the season.

He said: “With the management they have got there and the players – I know quite a lot of them from my time at Wycombe and Aldershot – I’m sure they will get that automatic spot.

“I still speak to a few of the boys occasionally. Gary Waddock’s been tremendous, he’s phoned me a lot.”