CHAMPIONS Clee Hill United could dominate the Herefordshire League for years to come, believes the manager of the side they thrashed to clinch the title.

United crushed Tenbury Town 10-1 to secure the Premier Division crown with three games to spare in their first season in the league.

And Tenbury manager Keiran Fish believes the title could be the first of many for a side that only moved over from the Shropshire League last summer.

Fish said: “Clee Hill are just different class and I would put money on them winning it every year – I can’t see anyone beating them to the title.

“If they can keep the players they have, I can definitely see them winning the league for the next two or three years.”

Hill – who only led 4-1 with around 20 minutes to go before a late burst of goals – moved past the 100-goal mark for the season with striker Josh Carpenter netting 50 of those.

He bagged against five against Tenbury and opposing boss Fish raved: “He’s got pretty much everything. Some of the angles he finished from against us were amazing.”

United boss Wayne Whitbread, meanwhile, admitted he was delighted to lift the title after coming close to glory on several occasions in the Shropshire League.

Whitbread, who has been with the club almost 20 years, said: “We’re delighted. We’ve come close a couple of times the last five or six years, knocked on the door of the top two or three but fell away.

“It’s been a while since we won a league so it’s made all the difficult times we had a few years ago, when we struggled to put a team out at times, worthwhile.

“It’s this group of lads that has won the league but this is also for the lads who were playing five or six years ago when we could easily have folded at one point.”

United are considering whether to apply to move up to the West Midlands League where neighbours Ludlow and Church Stretton play but their facilities are not up to the required standard.

And Whitbread says they are happy to stay where they are, adding: “The Herefordshire League is well-run, has good facilities, good teams and is competitive every week.

“I think we have taken a lot of sides by surprise being the new team but a lot of teams will strengthen and we are definitely not expecting it to be easy next year.”