Dale Eve has returned home to play for his boyhood club Dandy Town Hornets — but hopes to be back in English football by January.

The Bermuda goalkeeper has been without a club since leaving Vanarama National League side Forest Green Rovers prior to the end of last season.

Eve quit the club after growing frustrated at being on the sidelines but remains optimistic that he will find another team soon.

To keep himself in shape, the 6ft 4in goalkeeper has returned to Bermuda to play for Dandy Town.

“If I ever came back it would always be to Dandy Town as I’m homegrown,” said Eve, who has started training with Town while he awaits international clearance to play again at the amateur level.

“There was a lot of decision-making whether to come back and my mother is probably not the fondest person on it, but she understands.

“The decision to come back was a bit yes and no. Yes, mainly because while I wait for the transfer window in January I still want to be playing some football instead of just sitting in the house in England. Maybe no because it can be easy to get drawn back to Bermuda, if that makes sense.

“Also yes because I feel like the country doesn’t recognise me anymore as Bermuda’s No 1.

“It’s a tight race between the top three or four, and I want to make sure everybody is reminded of what I want to be. I want to be Bermuda’s best goalkeeper.”

Eve, 21, hopes to make his first appearance for Town on Sunday when the champions are away to Somerset Trojans in the Premier Division.

“Hopefully I’m in after Wednesday’s game [the Dudley Eve Trophy semi-final] if the clearance goes through and give the club a bit of life,”

Eve’s presence alone has lifted morale at Town, who are winless in two league outings so far against Robin Hood and Devonshire Cougars.

“It’s just a good vibe around the club and I’m confident that Dandy Town can turn their fortunes around in the league,” he said.

Eve initially signed a one-year deal at Premier League side Stoke City in 2012, which was extended for another two years as reward for a string of impressive performances for the club’s under-21s.

He also had loan spells with Fleetwood Town, Nuneaton Town, Newcastle Town and Congleton before being released by the Premier League side.

Eve then signed for Forest Green in February after leaving the Brittania Stadium.

He had previously had a loan spell at Forest Green in October last year, appearing in a televised 2-1 victory away to Margate in the FA Cup fourth-round qualifying match.

Eve made himself unavailable for Bermuda’s Caribbean Cup decider away to French Guiana in June because he felt the trip was a “fool’s errand”.

Bermuda needed a victory to keep their hopes alive of advancing to the third round of the competition but came unstuck against a superior side and were beaten 3-0.

Eve came in for criticism from Andrew Bascome, who immediately stepped down as Bermuda coach, after photographs emerged on Twitter of the goalkeeper attending the Bermuda Heroes Weekend Carnival.

Several other professional players such as Nahki Wells, Rai Simons, Milan Butterfield and Freddy Hall also opted against travelling to Cayenne, with Eve believing he was made a scapegoat for the loss.

• Wells’s Huddersfield Town will look to bounce back from their home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend when they travel to Preston North End in the Sky Bet Championship tomorrow.