Trio of Impressive Signings for Wrens

With pre-season training now in full swing, Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division South club Rainworth....

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Published 4th July 2012

Rainworth boss Kevin Gee (second right) welcomes new players L-R Callum Lloyd, Kieran Walker and Ian Holmes (Photo- Derek Bentley)

....Miners Welfare have announced three major signings for the new season.

Defender Kieran Walker and captain Callum Lloyd have joined from near-neighbours Hucknall Town, while Matlock Town front man and former ‘golden boot’ winner Ian Holmes has also agreed to join the club.

Walker is a tall, classy defender who can also play in midfield, and impressed manager Kevin Gee last season when he played a huge role in the Yellows’ 4-0 New Year’s Day victory over the Wrens. A former Nottingham Forest youngster, Walker had joined Hucknall from East Midlands Counties Leaguers Greenwood Meadows.

Lloyd, a former Mansfield Town midfielder who scored on his League debut against Bristol Rovers in 2005, remained with the Stags until 2007, spending some time on loan at Alfreton Town, before being snapped up by Kettering Town.

Further spells in the Blue Square Bet North with Hinckley United and King’s Lynn followed, and after a short spell at Ilkeston Town he moved to Hucknall, where he became club captain last season. Holmes was a target of Gee as he strove to end the Wrens’ goal drought last season. That fell through, but the former Glapwell hot-shot has put pen-to-paper after figuring with Premier Division Matlock Town last season.

Gee enthused that he was delighted to have secured the services of the three experienced players who were all on the top of the summer target list: “Obviously like all managers you put down a wish list of players you’d like to bring in to the club, but to have secured three of those at an early stage is fantastic. “Our budget means we have to go for quality rather than quantity, so I’m delighted to have captured three of the summer targets specific to how we will play. “Kieran is an exceptional attacking full-back and caused us all sorts of problems when he played against us over Christmas last year, so along with Ricky Hanson and Ryan Goward we now have competition and strength in depth in those particular areas. “Callum, I believe, will be my most influential and significant signing this season. He fills a gap in an area which I felt that we really needed to improve on last year, as we didn’t create or score enough goals from midfield. For me Callum is the complete midfield player as he brings not only quality on the ball but also strength and a competitive desire to control games out of possession. “He will also of course chip in with a few goals but more importantly he’s a winner and I’m sure he will be a fans’ favourite immediately. “With Danny Bacon committing to the club for another campaign after a fantastic last season, having re-adapted his game from a former front man, and also a few other new faces expressing a desire to join the club and impressing in pre-season training already, I’m confident this year that we will influence games more in the final third than we did last year. “As for Ian, the statistics speak for themselves. It’s well known that I had Ian at Glapwell two years ago where he received the `golden boot` award for scoring thirty-five goals, and although I’m sure both Ian and manager Mark Atkins at Matlock would agree that it didn’t quite live up to expectations and hype there last season he still delivered sixteen goals in the Premier Division, and for me he’s still the most prolific goal scorer in the 18-yard box in our division. “With his confidence and appetite for the game returning I’m absolutely delighted to have secured his services for this season. After two pre-season sessions I’m really pleased at the condition and fitness levels of the returning squad and although we are under no illusions as to how hard the division is going to be this year we are confident that we will be ready for the tough campaign ahead.”