More players join Matlock Town for new campaign

Former Farsley and Chester full-back Lewis Turner signed on the dotted line, while the Gladiators also announced the permanent acquisition of midfielder Nathan Valentine, who joined Matlock on loan from Stalybridge Celtic in January.

Valentine scored three goals in his nine appearances, and became a hit with the Matlock support who voted him as their player of the month for February.

And Phillips knows it will take time for his new look squad to settle into shape.

“I think there’s always a settling in period, a lot of teams will face this especially with the long time gap in playing,” Phillips said.

“But I’m hoping we can have some advantage with the sessions we’ve had in the summer and by the fact that we’ve signed players who’ve played together before and also know each other.

“I’m hoping it doesn’t take a long time for them to gell together. I’ve seen a togetherness at training, everyone’s pushing one another and the players are setting their own standards.”

Phillips revealed he had agreed terms with a midfielder who has captained Manchester City U21’s and he is looking to sign a goalkeeper on a dual registration basis to challenge Stewart for the number one shirt.

“We'll be about done then although we’ve got to be mindful that Spencer Harris and Braulio Maieco are suspended when the competitive games start,” he added.

Matlock’s season will begin seven days earlier than most of the other NPL Premier League clubs.

The Gladiators, Ashton United and Stalybridge Celtic are the three NPL top tier sides who will feature in the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup on Saturday 12 September.

Matlock will find out their opponents when the draws for the opening two rounds are announced by the FA on Tuesday 18 August.

“We’ll use it as a positive in that we’ll have had a competitive game before the league games get under way,” said Phillips.

“Hopefully it’ll give us an edge over whoever we play unless we play Ashton or Stalybridge in the opening league game.”