NEARLY three years ago, Rob Purdie didn’t know where his future lay after helping Hereford United escape relegation from the Football Conference.

Off-the-field issues meant that for large periods of the 2013/14 season, players didn’t know when their next pay cheque would come. Poor performances on the pitch meant that only a late revival saw the Bulls stay up thanks to a win against Aldershot and Chester only drawing against Salisbury.

However, Hereford would start the following season in the Southern Premier Division after being demoted from the Conference just weeks after London businessman Tommy Agmobar bought the club.

The Bulls would eventually be wound up and many fans were wondering whether they would ever see football played at Edgar Street again.

However, Hereford FC was born in its wake and and are on course to achieve another promotion in only their second season.

Central to the club’s success has been Purdie, who was one of manager Pete Beadle’s first signings. As well as helping Hereford to three trophies last year, Purdie will also be remembered for scoring at Wembley in the FA Vase Final, even if the Bulls were on the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat.

Purdie has now clocked up over 400 appearances for both Hereford clubs, something he didn’t think would happen three years ago.

“When we stayed up at Aldershot, I thought that would be it but when I came back last year, I thought ‘ok I’ve got three to five years left’,” said Purdie.

“It wasn’t until my 300th start that it started to sink in and now I want to get to 450.

“I’m delighted that it’s at Hereford though because it has always felt like home.

“I was 19 when I came and was here for five seasons.

“From when I joined, I have seen a lot of players come and go.

“When I was at Oldham, Jamie Pitman brought me back on loan and I remember driving down the Worcester Road and coming to the Aylestone Hill roundabout and feeling comfortable and happy that I was in Hereford."

Purdie said he only celebrated for 10 minutes following the Aldershot win because he didn’t think Hereford had achieved anything.

“I remember walking around the changing room afterwards and players were spraying champagne,” said Purdie.

“We were celebrating staying up, but a club like Hereford should not be finishing fifth from bottom in the Conference.

“I think some of the players that season were poor mentally and didn’t care about Hereford.

“Beads came in and for the last three or four games, we had players that wanted to win and played with pride rather than worrying about not being paid.”

Purdie was also involved in a last-day relegation battle in 2012, but despite scoring in a 3-2 win against Torquay, the Bulls returned to the Conference after six years in the Football League.

“I think off the pitch stuff affected us more that season,” added Purdie. “Gary Peters came in and no one really knew who was in charge and who to listen to. That team was good enough to finish top half in the league.”

Purdie was brought to Edgar Street by Graham Turner and the Bulls player says he owes his career to the former Hereford United manager.

“I never wanted to let him down and had an that aura about him," said Purdie.

“He was approachable but unapproachable at the same time. Some people may think he didn’t accept help, but he managed to save them from going bust and being sustainable in League 2 and League 2.

“Will Hereford ever see some of those seasons again?

“Probably not, unless they have someone like Graham Turner come in.”