TALENTED teenage full-back, Darryl Westlake has given the club a real boost by agreeing a new two-year deal at Banks's Stadium.

The youth team product made great strides during his first year as a professional last term as he chalked up a total of 24 first-team outings.

His performances in the right-back position belied his tender years and were rewarded as he scooped the 2009/10 Young Player of the Season award.

It is hoped that this development will continue during the months ahead. "I am pleased to get two years," he said. "I can't wait for pre-season to get underway and then the matches to start again.

"I was delighted with the way that last season went for me. If I'm being totally honest, I didn't expect to play in as many games as I did and now I want to build upon it, play even more games during the season ahead and generally keep progressing.

"I learned a lot about the position last season. The experienced lads really helped me and I would like to think that I've developed more of a vocal presence on the pitch. Rhys Weston gave me excellent support and Manny Smith was always talking to me throughout games which certainly helped.

"I felt that I adapted well to the step up in standard; working alongside the players in training on a daily basis really helped me.

"My aim now is to keep working hard and progressing; hopefully I will play even more games next season and it would also be nice to score my first goal!

"League One is getting tougher every season and it will be a good challenge for us, but I firmly believe that we can get into that play-off zone and really push on."