Batten hoping to stay for as long as is possible
Jack Batten marked his 150th league appearance for the club with a solid performance in Saturday’s win.
Having initially joined on loan from Bristol City in November 2015, Batten made the move permanent within six months and has remained at Bath since.
He made his league debut on 5 December 2015 in a 3-2 home defeat against Hayes & Yeading United in front of just 432 at Twerton Park.
“The club has come a long way since I initially joined on loan,” said Batten after Saturday’s success.
“I’ve said it before – I’ve loved my time here and long may that continue. Hopefully I can get at least another 150, I want to play as many as I can.”
While Batten is the second longest-serving player at the club, goalkeeper Will Fuller was making his bow in goal as a last minute replacement for Ryan Clarke.
“I didn’t know Will was playing until I got on the coach,” admitted Batten. “Clarkey trained Thursday and seemed OK but obviously something happened since.
“Will’s a brilliant lad. He’s really positive and did really well considering he came in last minute.
“The boys were excellent at the back in front of him. We had a good week’s training this week and carried it into today.
“We came under a bit more pressure than what we would have liked but we’ve got the players in the team now to deal with that. Hopefully we can get a bit more control next week.”
City haven’t reached the FA Cup 1st Round since 2011, four years before Batten’s arrival, and he’s hoping for a run this year, but is concentrating on Shaftesbury first.
“You have to take those games seriously,” he warned. “You’ll get turned over if you don’t. The manager said they’re not going to be a pushover.
“The FA Cup is brilliant. Hopefully we can get some momentum in it this year.”