I’M GONNA BE THE BAIN MAN
GARETH Bainbridge has already written himself into the history books of Ebac Northern League club North Shields.
The striker was a member of the Robins side that lifted the FA Vase in 2015, scoring the equaliser in their 2-1 win over Glossop North End.
Bainbridge has agreed to extend his stay at the Daren Persson stadium and with it comes a chance to seal a more personal stamp on the club’s history.
As it stands, Bainbridge is just four goals away from becoming the club’s record post-war goalscorer.
The former Ashington hitman is currently on 160 goals for the Robins, three behind the record-holder Don Winskill.
Bainbridge admits that the opportunity to break Winskill’s record was one of the driving factors behind his decision to commit to the Robins for another season.
He said: “I would be lying if I was to say it wasn’t a big part of my decision but I have to say that everyone knows that I love the club. I love the supporters, the people that work here and everything about the club.
“As a goalscorer, that record means a lot and it would mean a lot to do it for a club that is so special to me.
“I want to be part of the club’s history and it was a big factor in staying here.”
The Robins finished in a rather underwhelming eighth place in the Northern League’s top tier this season. That comes on the back of three top five finishes and the club have also won trophies in three of the last four seasons.
New manager Marc Nash has started to freshen up the squad ahead of the new season, signing three young players from his former club Whitley Bay.
Bainbridge believes that there will be a new look about North Shields this season, but insisted that the values that were instilled in the club by former manager Graham Fenton will continue to play a key part of their future.
“There are a few of us that have been bled through this club and we have great standards and morals that have been passed on to us. It’s about doing things the right way and there are people that need to understand the values of the club and the town.
“It’s not just your everyday Northern League club, it means more than that to the people involved in running the club and to the supporters.”