After agreeing to stay at Blyth Spartans for another season defender Nathan Buddle set his sights on a top six place in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League. The former Hartlepool United centre back had an impressive debut season at Croft Park making fifty one appearances for the club, winning the Port of Blyth Player of the Year and he captained an England ‘C’ Representative side. However with the player two weeks away from a return to pre-season training Buddle admitted he was setting his sights higher than the eighth place finish Tom Wade’s side managed last time out.
“I was shocked to see how much I played last season, it was unbelievable to play that much in one season. Hopefully I can do that again next season, do as well as I can and with the squad we have, and the new additions I think we can achieve a top six finish”
Buddle said that he couldn’t wait to get back to pre-season training and get preparations underway for what is sure to be a busy campaign for Spartans. A competitive schedule of warm up fixtures awaits the Amble born defender and his team mates but he felt he couldn’t wait any longer to get things started.
“It feels like it’s ages since we have had a game, too long in fact. It’ll be great to get pre-season started and get our fitness levels up, get games under our belts and really get things going”
Assistant Manager Colin Myers hailed Buddle’s performances last season and revealed that he was happy with the momentum that was being built up in a hectic summer at the club.
“He had a fantastic season last season and he is a real cornerstone of the squad. We have to look to keep players like Nathan Buddle at the club, it’s as simple as that. There is momentum to our pre-season, we have kept everyone together and that was our main aim. We have added quality and do it early doors so up to now it’s been a great summer of progress for us but there is still work to do”