Armstrong hails his predecessor

The former Stockport County, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town striker, who took charge back in September after Wade stood down after two years at the helm, hailed Wade’s role in ending the club’s five year wait for promotion before seeing the champions lift the EVO-STIK NPL Premier Division trophy at Croft Park on Saturday following their 5-1 final day win over Grantham Town.

The 42-year-old, whose side won the title with three games to go after losing just four games since he took on his first managerial role, said: “We took on a great squad that Tom had built and I must give credit to Tom, without a shadow of a doubt. I spoke to Tom last Saturday and he messaged me as well, so some of the credit for this achievement has to go to him. He said he had taken the club as far as he could, which everyone knew, and we build on that.

Before preparing his champions to do the double on Wednesday night by beating North Shields to lift the Northumberland Senior Cup at Newcastle United's St James’ Park, Armstrong also thanked every player who’d been with the club since his arrival last year to work with Wade.

“You look at the lads that I have brought in and they have all been outstanding as well,” he said. “To win the title in such a style against Halesowen was unbelievable. For every single player that has played since I took over, whether they are still here or have left and gone elsewhere, I just want to say thank you for what you’ve done to get us where we are.”

The Spartans boss is also hoping to see gate at Croft Park continue to rise after gates on the final day and when they won the title with their home win over Halesowen Town at Easter.

Armstrong added: “It was fantastic to see so many people inside Croft Park to see us win the league. I just hope these people who came for that one match have seen how good Blyth Spartans are and enjoyed the way we play football. To have nearly 1,200 people here was breathtaking. We just have to make sure they all come back week in and week out from now on.”

Images courtesy of blythspartans.com

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