Bradford (Park Avenue) boss Craig Elliott hails Paddy Sykes

The Horsfall outfit are on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Northern Premier League Division One East, and the squad’s improvement during that period has been there for all to see.

Striker Paddy Sykes, formerly of Campion, and former Sheffield Wednesday defender, Mark Beevers have been two of the standout performers for Avenue and they’ve earned rave reviews from their manager.

Speaking about striker Sykes, who scored in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to Bishop Auckland, Elliott said: “When I arrived at the club (August 30), I didn’t know anything about Paddy.

“However, from day one he’s been excellent and he’s exactly the type of player I love to work with.

“A lot has been made of our defensive record in recent weeks, but Paddy plays a massive part in that because he works and defends tirelessly for the team from the front.

“He’s played every minute for me up top as we haven’t had a lot of options in the forward positions, but he’s fully justified his starts.

“He’s a player that is appreciated by all of his teammates and that says a lot really. He’s getting some important goals too, which I’m delighted about.”

Paddy Sykes (right) after scoring Avenue's opener last weekend (Image: John Rhodes) Beevers has also been an instrumental figure in helping the club turn around its fortunes since he arrived in September.

Speaking to the T&A recently, the former Bolton Wanderers defender admitted that he’s loving life at Avenue under the guidance of Elliott.

When asked about the 34-year-old’s recent impact, BPA’s boss was quick to heap praise on Beevers too.

Elliott said: “We’re lucky to have him here.

“Mark has got great experience and he’s a leader, but he has also taken to non-league football extremely well.

“I’ve managed a lot of ex-professional footballers in the past and some adapt to this level of football, but some don’t and fall by the wayside.

“Genuinely, Mark has been superb since he arrived, and the results and defensive record speak for themselves.”

Mark Beevers (white shirt) has been instrumental for Avenue since arriving at the club (Image: John Rhodes) Giving his thoughts on whether he’d be keen for someone like Beevers to stay on at the club next season, Elliott said: “Right now, we want to do well and are currently playing catchup to a lot of teams.

“However, if we are lucky enough to be in the promotion mix or get promoted at the end of the season, then we can have these discussions with players.

“At the minute, I’m taking it week by week and going into each match with the ambition of winning every match.

“We are under no illusion that there is still a lot of work to be done, but having players like Mark will help us improve and he is exactly the type of player that we want to be keeping at the club.”

Avenue return to action today as they travel to Newton Aycliffe for a 3pm kick-off, and Elliott admitted that he’s expecting a very tough fixture.

He said: “It’s not going to be easy this one.

“Newton are top of the form guide, they’re unbeaten at home and I’ve heard a lot about their level of football and the way they like to play, which is on the front foot and expansive.

“Travelling to any game in the North East is going to be difficult, and this game represents the start of a tricky period for us.

“We’re aware of the challenges that are about to come our away, but equally, I’m looking forward to it because it will be nice to see how far away we are from challenging for promotion.”

In other news, Avenue have announced that Connor Shanks and Ben Blythe have committed their futures to the club by signing new contracts, securing their places at Horsfall Stadium until the end of the 2024/25 season