Buchanan “delighted” to be back

Spartans centre back Wayne Buchanan declared himself "delighted" to be back in action following tonight's 1-1 draw with Dunston UTS at Croft Park. Buchanan said "Im delighted to be back, I only trained for an hour on Thursday night as physio Susan Dale told me to. I warmed up on Saturday and felt good and considered making myself available but had to be sensible and waited for tonight."

Reflecting on his side's performance tonight the defender acknowledged that there is still room for improvement from Spartans but was pleased with the reaction to a poor opening period. "First half we weren't good enough, they were winning everything and we weren't close enough. We spoke about it at half time and came out well second half with a bit more urgency and made sure we got on the ball and made things happen rather than waiting for them to happen." Spartans much improved second half showing was rewarded with a late equaliser from Joe Kendrick and Buchanan sees ever increasing promise being shown by a young and developing Spartans side.

"I love the responsibility of being a leader and I've seen all of the sessions we have had. It's a role I take very seriously and I try to remember how I was at that age and how I would expect a senior player to speak to me. I try to help them and there's a lot of potential but we need time and patience." Buchanan also went on to praise the impact of the younger members of the Spartans squad and commented "They're doing well, very well in fact. These are lads who people don't know a lot about and they can be a threat because of that. They've got good ability and are all showing a willingness to listen, that's half the battle".

Buchanan will look to continue his comeback when Team Northumbria visit Croft Park this Saturday in the last scheduled friendly of Spartans' pre-season fixture.