HEREFORD United's sojourn in the Conference - rather longer than had first been expected - and its trials and tribulations before the return to the Football League are vividly recorded in a new book launched this week.

The nine-year period following the Bulls' relegation from the then Third Division and the frustration of two successive play-off reversals before overcoming Halifax Town in the final at Leicester last season are faithfully recorded in Hereford United: The Wilderness Years 1997-2006.

It could equally be called The Long Road Back as a sequel to Hereford United: The League Era 1972-97, a book from the same authors and publishers which has met with great success.

The Wilderness Years follows the same formula with a review of each season, followed by a top featured match report, with plentiful illustrations and comprehensive statistics complete with brief resumes of the significance of each and every match played.

High expectations of an early return to the Football League and the disappointment when this failed to materialise are relived, together with many highlights - a memorable one coming early with Hereford maintaining their FA Cup tradition by holding Premiership Leicester City to a draw at Edgar Street and only narrowly losing the replay.

But it is basically about the struggle to regain what many Bulls fans regard as their rightful place - a position in the Football League where they were once only one division away from the top section.

*Hereford United: The Wilderness Years 1997-2006 by Ron Parrott, Richard Prime and John Williamson is published by Desert Island Books and retails at £14.99.