Matlock Town have had a fantastic start to 2022 without even kicking a ball. The Gladiators announced on New Years Day that Alex Byrne has signed a new two year deal with the club.
The news has been met with an extremely positive reaction from the Gladiators fanbase online as Byrne has had an outstanding season so far at the Proctor Cars Stadium.
The midfielder's statistics for the 2021/22 campaign so far speaks for itself.
Byrne is currently Matlock's leading goalscorer this season with ten goals but also has an astonishing 24 assists so far in this campaign.
The 28 year-old has played a vital part in Matlock Town's excellent season. The Gladiators were not considered by many as promotion contenders before the start of this campaign but the Derbyshire outfit are currently top of the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Matlock have amassed 46 points from 22 league games and find themselves one point clear of their arch rivals Buxton, having played a game less than them.
Matlock Town have had a stagnant last few years in the NPL Premier Division but the appointment of Paul Phillips back in January 2020 has proven to be an outstanding one. The announcement of Byrne's commitment to the club is seen by many Gladiators fans as proof of the club's ambition and that the club is in the best place it's been in for a very long time. With the NPL Premier Division arguably at its most competitive that it's ever been, Byrne's new contract shows that the Gladiators are to be taken seriously and that there is a real chance that they could surprise everyone and win the league title ahead of the likes of South Shields, Buxton and FC United of Manchester who have all spent big money at this level of the game in the past couple of years to try and secure promotion to the National League North.
In the club's announcement on their website, Gladiators gaffer Paul Phillips was understandably delighted that such a key player had signed a new two year deal. Phillips told Matlock's press secretary Ian Richardson:
"It's a massive coup for the club. Alex is a player who does his talking on the pitch. He scores goals, he makes goals and he's the catalyst in a lot of what we do. When a player's performing as well as Al is doing and his club's doing well, you get a lot of clubs sniffing around so this deal shows the positive intent from the football club in securing the services of a very intelligent player who's very capable of playing well in this league and the league above. It also shows that off the field, the club must be doing the right things."
Despite not playing on New Years Day (due to their game away at Gainsborough Trinity being postponed due to positive Covid cases in the Holy Blues camp), the Gladiators have held onto pole position in the NPL Premier Division. Buxton were expected to overtake Matlock but conceded two late goals to lose at home to Stafford Rangers.
Matlock Town's next scheduled game is in the league at home against Ashton United on January 8.
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