Thursday 9th February 2012
by IAN RICHARDSON

Matlock Town boss Mark Atkins this week rubbished claims made by Buxton supporters that he had applied for the vacant manager's job at the Silverlands.

Former Worksop Town chief Martin McIntosh was appointed on Saturday, but some Bucks fans had posted, not only on their own, but also national fan's forums, that Atkins had submitted an application for the job which became open for the second time this season just days earlier.

Scott Maxfield had taken over from previous incumbent John Reed in November, before Buxton officials took the decision that another change was needed with their side still in the relegation zone.

"It was Buxton who contacted the club on Friday morning to ask if they could speak to me about the job" Atkins explained. "Matlock gave permission, so I went up there to speak to them on Saturday and that's as far as it went. I didn't apply, I've just spoken to them. I went just out of curiosity really, and out of politeness.

To hear our interview with Mark, play the video below...

"I'm really surprised that someone at Buxton's let this out as it can cause friction between the two clubs and it's something that nobody wants. We do our business down here totally differently and I've since telephoned the Buxton Chairman to complain about what's happened."

Atkins has done well in his first management position. Many fans thought he was a miracle worker in saving the Gladiators from what appeared to be certain relegation when he arrived in November 2009.

In the next season Town finished seventh and won the Derbyshire Senior Cup, before a disappointing end to the 2010/11 campaign saw the Gladiators miss out on what looked to be a highly probable play off place at the beginning of March when they were second, to finish eleventh.

Although at present his team is out of form, in thirteenth, with just one win in ten league games, Atkins has reassured fans that he is content at Matlock.

"I'm quite happy where I am, being manager at Matlock Town. There are some great people here who are all very supportive towards me. I've no problems with anyone at the club" he stressed. "My aim is to improve our results as soon as possible and myself, Nick Buxton and the squad of players we have will be working very hard to do just that and move us back up that table."

Matlock Chairman Tom Wright (left) is delighted that nothing came from Atkins' trip to North Derbyshire adding "We believe that Mark and his staff, by continuing their hard work can bring about an upturn in our fortunes. It's disappointing that these false claims have come to light, but we move on and I urge all of our fans to unite together and to continue to get behind Mark, his staff and the players."

Attention turns to Saturday's home meeting with Whitby Town, which must be in some doubt, given the snow and freezing temperatures for the past week. Matlock's players had a free afternoon last Saturday when news filtered through from North Ferriby that a keen frost had put off their scheduled game at Grange Lane. Every Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division game was a victim of the weather last weekend.

Whitby are currently second bottom with four league wins but three of these have come away from their Turnbull Ground. Atkins says Matlock can take nothing for granted, particularly after the listless display in their last league fixture which saw Ashton United win 2-0 at the Reynolds Stadium on January 28th.

"Whitby are struggling near the bottom but they're fighting for their lives which makes them dangerous opponents. Bearing in mind how we played against Ashton, this time I want us to bounce back positively, seize the initiative and push them back from the start. The onus is on us to call the tune."

Encouragingly, Matlock do have a decent home record against the Seasiders who are yet to record a victory at the Reynolds Stadium in ten league and cup attempts. It is important that the Gladiators ensure that record is still intact by Saturday evening with three points being preferable.

Good news on the playing front for Matlock is the possible return of injured trio Chris Bettney, Gareth Davies and Kris Bowler. An added bonus would be the receipt of international clearance for 6'2" former Celtic and Eire Youth international Laurence Gaughan, who had been playing in Galway.

Atkins has also served seven days notice of approach on a striker.

All of the Gladiators remaining games have now been arranged and are listed below:

FEBRUARY:
Sat 11th - WHITBY TOWN (H)  
Sat 18th - Chorley (A)  
Tue 21st - North Ferriby United (A)  
Sat 25th - RUSHALL OLYMPIC (H)  
Wed 29th - FC United of Manchester (A) - to be played at Stalybridge Celtic FC

MARCH:
Sat 10th - NANTWICH TOWN (H)
Tue 20th - Chasetown (A)  
Sat 24th - CHESTER FC (H)
Sat 31st - Worksop Town (A)

APRIL:
Wed 4th - BURSCOUGH (H)  
Sat 7th - MARINE (H)  
Mon 9th - Buxton (A)
Sat 14th - FC UNITED of MANCHESTER (H)
Sat 21st - Rushall Olympic (A) 

RECENT STORIES

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GLADIATORS HAVE A BLAST -
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NEW SIGNING GIVES ATKINS SELECTION HEADACHE -
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AND THE WINNER IS... -
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ALL CHANGE FOR THE GLADIATORS -
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BACK TO WINNING WAYS -
Manager Mark Atkins was pleased and relieved that defensive errors failed to rear up again as Matlock recorded two 3-0 home wins inside a week More...

GLADIATORS
FIGHT ON -
Without a win in five games, Matlock Town will be desperate to grab maximum points against second placed Colwyn Bay on Saturday. More...

ATKINS: GIVING CHEAP GOALS AWAY MUST STOP -
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MILESTONE APPEARANCE FOR GLADIATORS PLAYER -
There's two very good reasons why Matlock Town will want Saturday's visitors Hucknall Town to feel the backlash More...

GLADIATORS FIGHT BACK AFTER 1st AWAY DEFEAT OF THE SEASON -
Mark Atkins will be looking for his Matlock side to bounce back quickly and positively from their first away defeat of the season against Worksop More...

YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN -
They say you can't keep a good man down... Matlock striker Ross Hannah has certainly proved the point this last week. More...

NEW STAND IN ACTION AT MATLOCK -
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MATLOCK GAFFER BLASTS REFEREE -
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Matlock will travel to the Bill Stokeld Stadium hoping history repeats itself this weekend as they take on Evo Stik League first Divison South Carlton Town in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. More...

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NO EXCUSES -
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MORE TO COME -
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RARING TO GO -
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Related Links

Matlock Town Website