By Brian Bennett
Chris Reid says he thinks he has got ‘a bit of a point to prove’ when he resumes his Ashington career.
Woodhorn Lane manager Nick Gray signed Reid ahead of the Colliers’ away clash against Bishop Auckland on the last Saturday before Christmas – and the tall defender had an excellent debut.
However Reid was red carded in the opening minutes of the derby match against Blyth Spartans on Boxing Day and has now got to sit out a ban.
Ironically if the wintry weather hadn’t intervened leading to cancellations of Ashington’s last three games, Reid would have been available for Saturday’s home game against Bradford Park Avenue (January 17).
As it stands, the North Shields born lynchpin will be forced to kick his heels – but can’t wait for his suspension to pass: “Obviously I played in a couple of games over Christmas but I don’t think I did myself justice in the first three minutes against Blyth Spartans so I think I’ve got a bit of a point to prove,” said the 36 year old who previously enjoyed long serving spells with Whitley Bay and Morpeth Town, “I’m apologising to everyone connected with the club (Ashington) because essentially I’ve let everybody down. I want to make sure that the club (Ashington) is on the up come the end of the season and for them to see the best of me and not the worst.”
Reid had set his sights on retiring from the game altogether before Colliers boss Gray persuaded him to change his mind: “I’m delighted to be here,” he added, “Ashington have been a club that I’ve obviously played against for years – and it’s a massive club. I did leave Newcastle Blue Star to kind of close the end on my career but after speaking to Nick (Gray) – and also the fact that I know a lot of the lads here – it was a seamless move.”
He continued: “My debut performance at Bishop Auckland I guess was more of what I’m about. I’d been out for about three or four months so I didn’t know what I would be like coming back in but I felt comfortable. I struggled the next day but that was only natural. I’ve worked with Nick (Gray) before and the players are a great bunch of lads so I’m looking forward to my next game.”
Gray said: “Since I’ve been at Ashington, I’ve tried to sign Chris a couple of times to be fair but he committed to Newcastle Blue Star. When he left Blue Star, I was on the phone to him straight away but he said he wanted a break out of football. We had a situation when we played Bishop Auckland where we were down in numbers with Scott Lowery injured and Harry Powell unavailable so I asked Chris if he would do us a favour – and he didn’t think twice about it.”
He continued: “Then came the game on Boxing Day. when he was sent off early doors. We’ve all done it and been rash at times but Chris is a leader and a winner. I’ve seen him throughout his whole career and his standards have always been high. He comes from a good background and to be fair he’ll lift our standards in the dressing room as well as on the pitch. Obviously he misses the next few games through suspension but he’s important to us. I think he’ll help us massively and when the Ashington fans see him week in, week out they will see what a good addition he is.”