Morpeth Town are delighted to confirm that goalkeeper James Anderson has penned a two-year deal at the club.
A prodigious talent, Anderson was on loan at Whickham last season and excelled, earning many man of the match awards in a stellar campaign that made him one of the outstanding performers in the Northern League.
Featuring twice for the Highwaymen – once when keeping a cleansheet against Whitley Bay in the Senior Cup and again when saving a spot-kick in our dramatic success at Warrington Town in the FA Trophy – Anderson has a bright future ahead of him and we are delighted he has chosen to develop further here at Craik Park under the guidance of goalkeeping coach Dale Walker.
Highwaymen boss Craig Lynch was pleased to see this deal confirmed, saying: “James is a great talent and someone who we were desperate to get signed up.
“James had a fantastic season last year with Whickham and was training with us every week so it was great to keep up with his progress.
“Dale (Walker, Town goalkeeping coach) has worked hard with James over the last 18 months and I know Dale will be over the moon to keep James in the group.
“James understands his position with us at present with having Dan Lowson as the best keeper in the league.
“He was brilliant last season when called upon and I know going forward he will be the same.”
The keeper was a player in demand at the end of the campaign but was keen to extend his stay at Craik Park.
“When I first got involved with the club in training sessions, I knew straight away that being in this sort of environment would challenge me and push me to become a better player which is always going to be the main goal,” he said.
“Everyone at the club also made me feel very welcome and I didn’t feel out of place at all from the start.
“Now after over a year of being around players of this standard and having a very high standard of coaching, I feel like I have stepped my game up a few levels and I feel this will continue to happen being in this sort of environment with also having that challenge of being the number one at the club.”
Anderson was pleased with the outcome of his loan at Whichkam, which enabled him to mature into the player he is today.
“My time at Whickham has helped me improve a lot. For starters just playing in a tougher league than I was has pushed me to be a better player,“ he added.
“The management team played a big role in my past season, helping the club push on and improving the players and my performances resulting in us climbing the league. With all this I feel like I have matured and grown in confidence.”
