Paul Holleran has announced that he has reached agreement with James Mace, Jamie Hood and Jack Lane to remain at the club for the forthcoming season.
Mace is entering his ninth season at the club having initially joined on trial back in the summer of 2011, and is within 50 appearances of breaking the modern day club record set by Josh Blake back in 2009. Hood signed in September 2010 and returned in 2015 after two seasons with Barwell, and is close to breaking the 300 appearance barrier himself. The manager was full of praise for two players who have helped form the backbone of his squads as he approaches ten years in charge of the club. ‘I’m delighted to have reached agreement with both James Mace and Jamie Hood for next season,’ he said. ‘Neither player needs any introduction having played over 600 games for Leamington between them, which is an incredible achievement. They have been a big reason for our success over the years and have provided a solid foundation for us to build on.
‘Their importance cannot be understated having played so many games for us. They are experienced, established defenders at the level we are at now and are an important part of the squad and the DNA of our club.’
Meanwhile Jack Lane did what many others have failed to over the years after signing from Alfreton last September - infiltrating the establishment in defence and giving the manager some food for thought as he filled in seamlessly at left back and in centre back. ‘I am constantly reminded of the fact as the years go by that eventually I am going to need people to fill some very experienced boots and share the load a bit, and Jack stepped in and did that for us last season. He’s a good, cultured player who did very well for us and gave us good balance. It worked well in the second half of last season when we needed to switch things around a bit and all being well it will do so again in what is going to be another very challenging season.’
