City new boy Chamberlain delighted to play for Bartlett again

Ollie Chamberlain is delighted to be working with Scott Bartlett again.

Ollie Chamberlain – playing under the moniker Trialist – looks to get the better of two Plymouth Argyle men during Bath City’s 3-0 defeat on Saturday 18th July | Photo © Simon Howe

On Sunday 19th July, the versatile 31-year-old was announced as Bath City’s latest signing, reuniting him with the Romans’ boss after turning out for him at Weston-super-Mare in National League South.

Bartlett signed Chamberlain for the Seagulls in 2024, the player arriving from Taunton Town where he made almost 300 appearances.

Chamberlain was listed under the moniker Trialist on the Bath team-sheet for the pre-season friendlies with Cardiff City U21 on Tuesday 14th July and Plymouth Argyle on Saturday 18th July. He left Weston by mutual consent on 14th July.

After signing for the Romans – who will play in Pitching In Southern League Premier South in 2026-27 – Taunton-born Chamberlain said of being reunited with Bartlett: “Delighted. He’s a manager I know well, he knows my strengths and I enjoyed my time under Scott at Weston.

“Once I heard he was interested, delighted to get back.”

The pair kept in touch after Bartlett left Weston to take over the hot seat at Eastleigh in September 2025 and Chamberlain was recovering from an Achilles injury.

Chamberlain: “I picked up an injury last year, and he wished me all the best. He gave me a ‘good luck’ message when I did get back to it, so that was nice.”

Regarding the injury, Chamberlain said: “I ruptured my Achilles, 14 months ago, playing football. It was a long process of recovery, but I’m feeling strong now, feeling fit. I feel like I’ve recovered well.

“I played the back end of last season, a month or two of last season, picked up some minutes there, and pre-season’s been good for me so far. So hopefully I can just take that onto the season.

“Weston were great support for me [while Chamberlain was out injured]. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done.

“Family and friends were great with me as well.”

Although Chamberlain has spent much of his career in midfield, he says he will play wherever Bartlett needs him.

“I’ll do a job where the manager wants me,” said Chamberlain.

“Don’t mind either full-back, wing, but I can do a job in centre-mid as well if need be.

“I’m versatile, always give 100% effort. He knows my strengths and I think it’ll be a good fit.

“I was centre-mid for many years.

“But when I got promoted to National League South with Taunton, we had a shortage of wing-backs for the system we played, and I went there and I maintained my level.

“I kept getting goal contributions, playing well. So about four years ago, I started playing wing-back. Now it’s filling everywhere really, since then.”

Chamberlain believes his experience of playing at Step 3 for Taunton will be a big boost for Bath.

He said: “I think it was three or four years in this league. So I feel like I know the league well.

“I feel like I’ll be a big help for this team, especially in this league.”

Reflecting on the Romans’ 3-0 defeat by Plymouth, Chamberlain said: “Top crowd, great stadium. We knew what the game plan was going to be, they’re a great team.

“They had a lot of the ball. It was a lot of shape work, a lot of defending work.

“The heat made it tough but I think it was a good run-out, good minutes in the legs, and I think with pre-season, that’s the main aim.

“We’ll have games where, especially when we’re into the season, we’ll look to control the ball, we’ll look to play our way, be a lot more attacking.

“But at the moment the key part is just getting minutes into the legs, building match fitness and keeping injuries away.”

Bartlett said of Chamberlain: “Ollie’s a brilliant addition for us. He’s incredibly consistent and can play anywhere.

“He’s quick, creative, makes good decisions on the ball in an attacking sense but can also defend one-versus-one as good as anyone I’ve worked with.

“I really value what he gives to the group. He’ll prove to be an excellent signing for Bath City FC.”

Following Chamberlain’s departure from Weston, the North Somerset outfit’s boss Scott Rogers said: “Chambo has been a privilege to have around the place the last two years.

“The first year, he played a lot of games, did really well and unfortunately picked up a nasty Achilles injury which meant he didn’t play a lot last season.

“I felt that I couldn’t give him the game time this season after missing such a large part of last season, so we agreed to terminate the contract as he already has some excellent offers elsewhere.”