Following the signing of midfielder, Tom Walker, Jim Bentley has given his thoughts about the exciting addition to the Coasters squad.
Walker was a standout player when Stockport visited Mill Farm last month and Jim Bentley has made it clear he’s one he’s had his eye on.
“Tom is a player I have always admired, I watched him play for Bolton against Morecambe in a pre-season friendly where he was outstanding,” Bentley said.
“He’s had a successful time at Salford, and he ticks a lot of boxes with what we are looking for, he’s young, energetic, a good footballer and he can create and score goals.”
Bentley believes Walker will bring a lot of quality to what is already a strong, versataille squad and spoke about his ability to play in several positions.
“He’s quite adaptable, he can play out wide, he can play in the 10, he can play in the three-man midfield,” Bentley continued.
“He’s one of them that can play anywhere and that’s another real positive for us that he’s not just a one trick pony.
“We like to be adaptable and we want players to express themselves and affect the final third of the pitch – and he’s definitely one of them.”
Despite having different options at his disposal, Bentley thinks competition for places is something which can only be healthy for his side.
“We want players that can play all over the pitch, but we need to improve our goalscoring tally,” he mused.
“We’ve created numerous chances, performances have been good, but one of the things is the goalscoring and I’m sure we will improve in that area.”
“There’s nothing like healthy competition in a group, I’ve got a good group at the minute, they’re all working hard to play and I’m sure he will add to that.”
Since being appointed manager of the club, Bentley has expressed he is keen to make additions to the side, but only if they’re the right ones – he gave an update on that so far:
“It’s going to take a little bit of time to adapt to how we play, potentially one or two will leave, Elton went a couple of weeks back and maybe one or two others might move on in time.”
“We are a little bit overloaded in certain areas, some more than others, but hopefully we will have a nice balanced bunch, hardworking who all want to give it their all and want to win games of football.”
“We just need to make sure we add to what we’ve got and I’m sure we will do that in the coming weeks and months.”
To watch Tom Walker’s first interview as an AFC Fylde player, click here.
