Brothers planning family celebration

By David Watters

Former Sheffield United and Bristol City striker Diego De Girolamo wants to earn promotion alongside his older brother Nico at EVO-STIK League Buxton.

The 22-year-old, pictured, is looking forward to scoring the goals to take the Bucks up while his older sibling marshals their defence in the Northern Premier League's top flight under the guidance of joint managers Paul Phillips and Steve Halford after seeing out last season at National League champions Macclesfield Town.

De Girolamo kicked off his career at Sheffield United and had three spells on loan at York City and a stint at Northampton Town during his time there before joining Bristol City in the summer of 2016. Following further loans spells away from Ashton Gate at Cheltenham Town and League Two Chesterfield, the Chesterfield-born forward moved on to the Silkmen for the remainder of last term.

Capped at youth level by Italy, De Girolamo set his sights on making promotion a family affair at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium and earning an eventual return to the pro game in an interview with nonleaguedaily.com.

He said: "When it came down to it, I had quite a few offers from England and abroad, but living in Chesterfield and it being local, and even with the football side of it as well, I think it was my best opportunity to sign for Buxton. The main reason is to get as much game time and experience as possible.

“I think the way I’m looking at it, 90 percent of it is I’m not just dropping down and thinking ‘I don’t wanna play professional football any more’ – it’s still my dream to get back into the League. I’ve been in the League for six years now, in and out of teams, and in all honesty, I’ve not really enjoyed it as much as I thought I would have.

"Then the other ten percent of joining Buxton is playing with my brother, even if it’s only two or three times a week. It would be better full-time, but even part-time it’s still good to travel in and play with my brother.”

De Girolamo is determined to repay the faith of Bucks chairman David Hopkins in his abilities by helping to deliver a place in National League North by next summer.

The striker, who'll be linking up with last season's top flight golden boot Liam Hardy when the 2018-19 campaign kicks off, added: “With Buxton the thing that stood out to me most was what the chairman agreed for me regarding my time at the club, giving me a two-year contract.

"I’ve just got a vibe from the chairman that he’s not happy staying in this league; he wants to get out. He’s got the ambition to get up into the next league, which is what I want. I’ve not signed to finish sixth, seventh – I want to get promotion.”

Image courtesy of @Buxton_FC/Twitter

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