Midfielder Matthew Lund is to be Salford City’s new player-coach despite rumours of the club turning to ex-footballer Martin Kelly.
Lund has spent three years at the club after originally joining from Rochdale in summer 2021.
He has scored 20 goals from 129 appearances, but will now be taking a new opportunity at the club.
The 33-year-old said on the club’s official podcast: “It has been a change for me.
“But it is something that you kind of find yourself doing when you get older, teaching the young lads, trying to coach them on the pitch, and it has kind of felt natural for me.
“So it is a little bit of a change obviously, but it gives me that insight into the other side of the football spectrum I suppose, and I am enjoying it,” he continued.
He has also learnt from the experience of working under two player coaches at Rochdale. He said: “I’ve had player-managers before with the likes of Brian Barry-Murphy and Jim McNulty. So it is quite a good learning point of view for me.”
We are delighted to announce that Matthew Lund has taken up a new role as player-coach!
🗣️ “Part and parcel of my role now is to try and help the younger players, help the players who obviously are coming through, and there are some really talented football players here.”
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) October 4, 2024
The midfielder hopes to help Salford finally earn a promotion from League Two under manager Karl Robinson.
That would require a major turnaround, as the team have endured a tough start to the 2024/25 season, currently sitting 16th in the league winning only three out of their opening 10 matches.
This saw another dent in the armour of the Ammies, as they suffered their fourth defeat on Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Grimsby Town at the Peninsula Stadium.
Though Lund is moving more towards coaching, he is still looking to play a significant part in the team when it comes to ‘on the pitch’ matters this season.
He continued: “I want to play as well. The squad is a bigger squad this year, I understand that, but I’m still training and I’m still trying my best every day.
“That will never change as long as I’m still putting the boots on to go out to train.
“So, when the manager needs me, I’ll be 100 per cent ready for the team.”
More information about his transition throughout the season can be found here.
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