ARRON Parkinson spent three seasons with Daventry Town as a teenager but the 31-year-old reckons that the return to Communications Park will be "my last port of call as a player."
"Parky" was an unused substitute against Boston Town on Saturday but his experience could prove highly valuable to the Town in April once he has served a three-match ban for a recent sending-off in Woodford United's
Southern League game against Bur
nham.
The central defender
accepts that his
disciplinary record does not bear close scrutiny over the years but added cheerfully: "Before the red card against Burnham I hadn't picked up a single booking this season."
Parkinson (pictured) knows already what it feels like to pick up the UCL championship trophy as he led his home village Woodford to the title in 2005-2006 before also captaining
Leamington for a season in the Southern League.
Brackley Town, Banbury United and Wellingborough Town also feature on the lengthy CV of a player who can also double up at right back as the Town face a busy spell of 11 matches in little more than a month to wind up the season.
With the coming
demands on his squad manager Ady Fuller has also acted wisely in
recruiting left-back Tommy Kinch from Woodford. The ex-Brackley player responded with two solid performances in last week's victories over both Cogenhoe and Boston.
Kinch made a couple of appearances for the Town at the start of the season but was then persuaded by Lewis Travers and his other mates at Woodford Halse to join forces with the Reds.
With Woodford
chairman Andy Worrall forced recently to trim the players' budget because of poor spectator attendances and inactivity in the cold spell, Parkinson and Kinch have both jumped
ship to Daventry's
advantage!
"Parky" will be seen as a ready-made replacement for Chris Godwin who has been with the Town since winning a UCL Division One winners medal but whose first team place was put under threat by Andy Gregory's arrival from Leamington.
Godwin went close to equalising against
Arlesey Town on his Southern League debut for Bromsgrove Rovers at the weekend and will be remembered at
Communications Park for playing a major role in the 13 cleansheets kept in the first 18 matches of
the season.
Josh Blake's three-match suspension for the
sending-off at Newport Pagnell is due to kick in next week so manager Ady Fuller plans to make full use of all his squad in the last few weeks of a hectic campaign.
Saturday's home game with Stotfold will be no stroll in the park for
starters as the Eagles were a shade unlucky not to beat the Town earlier this month after being
denied a clear-cut
first-half penalty.
