DAN WORDSWORTH: Good to get some clarity
Reds first-team defender Dan Wordsworth say it’s good to get some clarity regarding the current Northern Premier League season after committing his immediate future to the club.
Wordsworth re-signed for the 2020/21 season yesterday and will start his 10th campaign at Borough Park next term.
Speaking on Saturday, the long-serving centre-back said: “It didn’t take long to get sorted to be honest.
“Once I spoke to Danny [Grainger] and Ruddy [assistant Steven Rudd], I knew I was going to be re-signing.
“I’m not looking to go anywhere else, especially at my age.
“Just to get things sorted is good.”
Last week, it was all-butconfirmed that the current 2020/21 season will be ruled null and void due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.
Having had to deal with the even more season-shattering news last spring, Wordsworth took a positive from the announcement.
“There’s been a bit of confusion since the season stopped and we didn’t know what was happening, so to finally get some clarity is good,” explained the 30-year-old.
“We can concentrate on next season.”
At 30, ‘Goose’ is one of the oldest in the squad – closely behind Scott Allison and ahead of captain Conor Tinnion, who have both recently re-signed – and the no. 4 acknowledged his role in the youthful group.
“I think we’ve got a good few senior lads and I’m one of those boys now with Scotty & Tinners and even Brad Carroll & Sam Smith but it’s nice to have the company of the youngsters.
“They’ve done well this season and have been in the majority of training sessions as well which is good to see and when they’ve played, they’ve done themselves credit.
Wordsworth went on to say: “It’s always good to have the mix of experience and youth, and it’s good for the club going forward in the future.”
His central defensive partnership with Smith has be a staple of the success that Reds have had since Grainger arrived, and he committed his future yesterday, too.
The pair, who have been a large part of why the first-team have conceded just 34 goals in 40 NPL games under the gaffer, act as a platform for the rest of the team to build on with their consistent quality performances and ever-present reliability.
Discussing the duo, Wordsworth commented: “Sam and I get on well on and off the pitch.
“We joked the season we went down that we couldn’t keep a clean sheet or win a game every time together for whatever reason,” he joked.
“Under Danny and Ruddy, we’ve changed that and formed a good partnership at the back there.”
Read Smith’s interview here.
