THE MAIN FEATURE

THE MAIN FEATURE SHANE HENRY

Shane Henry joined his hometown club earlier in the summer from Spennymoor Town, after a six-year spell with The Moors.

Nicknamed “The Bull”, Shane is known for his powerful midfield performances and a tireless work-ethic. The midfielder has quickly become a fan favourite at Stockton and is an important cog in the midfield. In this feature, Shane discusses the season so far, his personal performances and looks to the future with Durham Challenge Cup and FA Vase ties on the horizon. The Anchors suffered a slow start to their league campaign, picking up five points from four games, Shane admits the start of the season was not as we’d have liked: “It was slow to start really, a couple of draws early on in the season but over the last month or so we have started to pick up our form and started picking up wins instead of draws.

We will look to win tomorrow night and we have a good group of games coming up. I think we will pick up more points over the coming games.” On his own performances so far this campaign: “I didn’t have much preseason, I felt really good then I picked up a knock. I just need a run of games. I get better after 6-8 games. When I’m playing, I’m playing well, I wish I had scored more goals, in terms of my performances I think I have been pretty consistent. It’s been a bit of a stop-start due to a couple of knocks but I’m quite pleased and I know I can get better. Hopefully we see that over the coming months. Shane scored his first Stockton goal in the 4-1 victory over Consett, the midfielder was delighted to break his duck in front of goal: “I was delighted, if you look back at the highlights it was a great goal, we broke from the edge of our own box, Kev’s played a good ball round the corner and Kingy’s put it in area where I’ve just had to head it. There’s been chances in between that and I’m confident I can score ten goals this season.” Shane is also confident that how he has broken his duck, the goals will flow: “I think so [scoring more goals], I wouldn’t be surprised if I scored a couple in the next few weeks.” The Anchors have picked up 13 points from their last five league games, the 29 year-old believes it can be the platform for a consistent run: “It was a slow start but there were a couple of sucker punches in that run, there weren’t any teams that dominated us. We slipped up a couple of times but we have hit the ground running the last couple of weeks. We’ve got to beat what is front us as we all want that promotion. We’ve got to be patient, clever to break teams down to keep picking up points home and away.” The Anchors now enter a run of seven away games in nine fixtures over the next couple of months, Shane insists all of the

squad will be needed to come through the tight fixture list: “The games come thick and fast, thankfully we have an excellent squad. One lad comes in and another goes out, we have ideal replacements all over the field, it’s nothing to worry about, the squad will get used and we’ve got to get points on the board.” “We’ve got some huge games coming up against teams at the top with the likes of Newton Aycliffe, Hebburn and North Shields, they’re the games you want to play in.” Stockton have been drawn away at National League North side Darlington FC in the Durham Challenge Cup, a side which Shane has previous experience against, both good and bad: “I’ve had some great and not so great experiences, I think I’ve played Darlo close to ten times over the seasons, in playoff semi-finals and in league games. Games against them were always over Christmas so we had a thousand plus fans watching, always competitive.

The Anchors enter the second round of the FA Vase at the end of November, Shane is looking forward to the competition: “It’s been a while since I played in the FA Vase, it’s a good chance for us this year, I don’t want to build people’s hopes up because anything can happen in football but we’ve got a good opportunity to do well. I’ll look forward to when the draw is made.” When asked his favourite moment in football throughout his career, Shane has lots of memories to choose from: “When we [Spennymoor Town] played MK Dons in the FA Cup First Round, and lost 3-2, that was a good experience and probably the biggest occasion.” “Getting promoted with Spennymoor to the Conference North, beating Stourbridge 1-0, that was the culmination of two years of hard work as we were beaten in the playoffs the previous year. That would be my favourite moment.”

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MEET THE PLAYERS INTRODUCING OUR SQUAD FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON

1 Jack McCally Goalkeeper McCally is a young ‘keeper, who also plays for our U18 side. He is a great leader at the back and his distribution makes him a valuable player in possession. 5 Dan McWilliams Defender A local lad, Dan was released from Middlesbrough’s Academy at age 16. He has previous Northern League experience with Billingham Synthonia and Guisborough. 9 Max Craggs Midfielder A product of the Stockton youth system, Max joined the squad age 17 and quickly became a regular. He had a season with Billingham Synthonia in 2015-16. 2 Callum Roberts Goalkeeper 3 Adam Nicholson Defender Callum joined from Longest-serving player at the Billingham Synthonia and he club, Adam came through the was at Preston NE for six years youth system. Captain of the prior. The shot-stopper has team, he leads by example also spent time higher up in at the back and also has an non-league football. impressive scoring record. 4 Dale Mulligan Defender Dale re-signed for Stockton and links back up with brother Nathan after a spell at Shildon. He played for the Anchors during their Wembley run in 2017-18.

6 Lewis King Defender Lewis was a member of the Hartlepool Academy until 16, he then spend time with Burnley and then Spennymoor. A top prospect, athletic and gets forward. 7 Tom Coulthard Defender Tom is a product Stockton’s youth set up. He broke into the first team when he was 17 and is a tough, strong, quick, thoroughbread of a centre back. 8 Jordan Robinson Midfielder Jordan is a very experienced defender, who played for Middlesbrough’s Academy before joining Wigan Athletic. He is a tall, strong midfielder, who is a huge asset.

10 Nathan Mulligan Midfielder Nathan was with Middlesbrough until age 18. He played in the Football League with Darlington and has a wealth of Northern League experience. 11 Shane Henry Midfielder Shane’s nickname is ‘The Bull’ and that becomes clear when you see him play. He joins his hometown club after six seasons playing higher up with Spennymoor Town. 12 Tom Portas Midfielder Tom signed from West Auckland and has previous experience with Guisborough, Whitby and Darlington. A fantastic midfielder, elegant on the ball.

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13 Keelan Wright Midfielder Keelan has been with the club as a junior since leaving the Middlesbrough Academy. He is a strong and mobile midfielder with great close control.

17 Kevin Hayes Forward Kevin forced his way into the title-winning team in 2017 and has gone on to cement his place in the first team. A lightning quick wide man, likes to get at defenders. 21 Nathan Steel Forward Nathan arrived from Shildon and is an experienced Northern League striker, who has had successful spells at clubs like Guisborough and Billingham Synthonia. 14 Peter Bulmer Forward 15 Sam Conway Forward 16 Jonathan Franks Forward Peter joined back from Sam was part of the inaugural Jonathan started his Thornaby and has also played college academy program journey at Stockton and has in the league for Guisborough where he finished the season represented England from and Marske. He operates as top scorer. He is a powerful U15s through to U20s. The mainly out wide and has pace, and direct winger, who has a forward has played for a quick feet and close control. great eye for goal. number of top clubs. 18 Gary Mitchell Forward Gary was part of Middlesbrough’s and Hartlepool’s Academy as a junior. His movement makes him a versatile striker at such a young age. 19 Jamie Owens Forward Jamie is now in his third spell with the club and is a product of the Stockton youth system. He has a wealth of experience and won the league title with Marske in 2015. 20 Michael Roberts Forward Another Stockton lad, Mikey has also played at Guisborough, Spennymoor, Whitby and Marske. He also has a Division One title under his belt.

22 Michael Dunwell Manager After a successful playing career, he was appointed Stockton manager in 2014, after a year of being a playercoach. He now enters his seventh season as manager. 23 JD Briggs Asst Manager JD also had a great playing career, in non-league. He turned to coaching and became Michael’s assistant in the 2014 and has been with the club ever since. 24 John Fielding Coach John joined Stockton as an assistant with the U18s and was promoted to first team coach in 2018. He guided the youth team to a league and cup double in 2017.