Accrington Stanley skipper Luke Joyce spoke of his delight after signing a new two-year contract at the club.
The former Wigan and Carlisle man is the ninth player from last season’s squad to sign a new contract and said he is looking forward to working with new manager James Beattie.
Joyce said of his new contract: “I’m delighted, it’s fantastic for myself and my family to get it all sorted. I’ve had four fantastic years here and I’ve really enjoyed it.
“I can’t wait to work with him (Beattie); obviously he’s been here six or seven months now and he’s a really good guy. He wants to play football the right way and play good football, which is great for the club.”
Last season the Reds found themselves caught in a relegation battle.
The club just managed to avoid the drop by finishing 18th and three points clear of the relegation zone, something which Joyce is hoping to avoid this season.
“We were disappointed last season and obviously we don’t want to find ourselves in that position again,” he admitted.
“We want to finish as high as we can, whether that’s automatic places or the play-offs.”
The 25 year old has shown his consistency with Accrington and is closing in on 200 games for the club, after missing only five games in his last two seasons.
“I’m proud to have played so many games for this club,” he said.
“It’s not easy playing week in and week out but I’m really enjoying it and I want to carry on doing my best for Accrington Stanley.”
Stanley begin their season away on Saturday, August 3 , against last season’s Conference Premier play-off winners Newport County as part of the Football League’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
“It’s an honour to be involved in the 125th anniversary of the league,” Joyce said.
“It’s going to be a tough game for us away at Newport.
Obviously they’ve just been promoted last season and they’ll be up for it but we’re going there to win and hopefully spoil the party.”
The Accrington players go back into pre-season training next week and Joyce is looking forward to getting back onto the pitch.
He said: “It’s nice to have my future sorted and I can’t wait to get back. There are a lot of great lads here and there’s a great team spirit, so we’re all looking forward to starting the new season.”
