The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Highly-rated defender Jonny Clay has become Holbeach United’s first major new signing of the summer.
South Holland lad Clay, who has spent the past two seasons with UCL Premier Division outfit Peterborough Northern Star, will be re-united with his former Star boss Darren Jarvis at Carter’s Park.
Tigers supremo Jarvis signed the central defender from Peterborough Premier Division side Moulton Harrox, where he played a key role in the Broad Lane club’s historic treble.
Before moving to Harrox, Clay also played a pivotal part as Pinchbeck United won the double under Ian Dunn back in 2012.
Holbeach tried – and failed – to sign him from Star last season. But they’ve now got their man – with Jarvis adamant that he’s getting one of the best local defenders in the business.
Jarvis said: “From our point of view, signing Jonny is an absolute no-brainer. As soon as I took over here, he was a top target.
“He definitely fits the criteria of player we want to bring to the club moving forward. He’s a local lad and we want the nucleus of the Holbeach team to be from the surrounding area.
“I imagine that Jonny is a player that our fans and people will be aware of, so they’ll know that this is a great signing for us.
“I think that he’s proved himself as one of the best local defenders in his time in the UCL Premier Division and I’m sure he’ll fit into what we’re trying to do here.
“As soon as we made Jonny aware of our interest he was excited about the prospect of coming here – and we’re excited to have him on board.”
There’s some more good news for Jarvis too, with striker Andrew Tidswell agreeing to take on the role of player/coach for next season.
The pair met on Thursday night to discuss the idea of Tidswell taking on extra responsibilities at Carter’s Park – and officially struck a deal.
First and foremost, Jarvis is looking forward to having a fit Tidswell in his team next season. But he also believes that he’ll have an impressive footballing brain on his coaching staff too.
Jarvis added: “When fit, Andrew is the best goalscorer in the UCL. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact based on recent seasons.
“He’s had a few injury problems and wasn’t quite at his best last season. But I’m sure he’ll be fit next year – and we’re delighted to have him on board.
“We sat down on Thursday and talked about what we expected of each other on the coaching side of things. Thankfully, we were thinking exactly the same thing and his role is now officially agreed.
“I don’t think anyone around here has as good a footballing brain as Andrew and I’m sure he’ll have a great impact on the coaching side of things.
“I couldn’t be happier. With (number two) Tom Roberts and (coach) Steve Kerwood also committed, I’ve got the ideal coaching team now.”
Jarvis is also hopeful that popular physio Carol Holland will agree to stay in her role next season.
The Tigers chief dubbed her a “lovely person and an even better physio” and is just waiting for official confirmation that she’ll reprise her position.
