Buxton back on track but set to lose skipper

Delighted Buxton ended their poor form of form with two wins this week.
Greg Young - set to leave Buxton?Greg Young - set to leave Buxton?
Greg Young - set to leave Buxton?

But their joy was tempered by the fact that skipper and club stalwart Greg Young looks set to join former boss Martin McIntosh at Frickley Athletic as assistant player-manager.

A hard-earned 1-0 win at Stafford Rangers on Saturday ended a seven-game run without a league win, and that was followed by a superb 3-2 League Cup win at Basford United on Monday, when they had to come back from 2-0 down.

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However, McIntosh, who had just moved to Frickley after a successful spell at Ilkeston, made a move for former Grimsby defender Young, who has been with Buxton since 2014, and joint Bucks boss Paul Phillips said: “Greg will probably be going to Frickley.

“Martin has taken over there and has offered him the assistant manager’s position. So we will have to bring a centre half in.

“It’s massively disappointing, but we understand the reasoning behind it. He is the captain of the football club and he’s been here a long time.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s led by example and has been great to have around the changing room. He has never been a moment’s problem.

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“I can understand his point of view. He is going to be playing and moving into management and, as he said to us, this chance might not come up again.

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“Macca made the approach. He’s known Greg a long time and I am sure he will be a success in management there as well as the playing side.”

Buxton host Mickleover Sports on Saturday (3pm), hoping they can now get on a run.

“If everything goes right this week we should be down to just two or three injuries by Saturday,” said Phillips.

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We are keeping our fingers crossed we can put this bad luck behind us and kick on and get a third win in a row.

“In a season you always have a dip. We started the season really well which is why we are still in and about it.

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“But we’ve had a dip for about seven or eight weeks when we didn’t play to our potential for one reason or another. I am hoping that’s now out of the way.

“Other teams that were top of the league have all had dips too.

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“With the players we have got coming back and the one or two we may bring in, I am hoping now that we can get on a run.

“Looking at the games other sides are playing, if we can win Saturday we could be four points off fifth position. So it’s crucial we get the three points.”

He added: “Saturday’s win was the more important one, but it’s good to get a bit of momentum.

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“We had a couple of players back from injury which really helped and I thought Callum Chippendale was outstanding on Saturday.

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“Saturday wasn’t the greatest. I thought we could have been two or three goals in front before we actually scored.

“Then we were hanging on a little bit at the end, but we had to grind it out to get us back on an even keel.

“It was a big relief as we were in a bit of a rut. But, with a win under our belts, it showed on Monday.”

But Phillips believes Buxton’s 3G pitch will suit the style of football Mickleover play on Saturday and emphasised how hard the game will be.

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“We have beaten them twice already this season, once in the League Cup and once at the start of the season,” he said.

“They are a very good footballing team who are probably in a false position. They have some very good players there and they play football the right way.

“It will probably suit them coming to our place with our pitch being like it is.

“So it will be a very tough test but, now we have our confidence up and players back, one we hope we will come through, though we know we’ll need to be at our very best to get the three points we need.”

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The Bucks have bolstered their ranks by bringing in Chester’s John Pritchard on a month’s loan and Phillips said: “John played in both games.

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“He’d not played for four or five weeks so he was probably a bit jaded on Monday, but he needed the minutes.

“He gives us a different direction as a winger. He gives us the width we’d been missing. He has also been brilliant for us in the changing room so long may it continue.”