500 not out for Chris Slater at Chasetown

The central defender, born and raised just a stone's throw from Chasetown's Church Lane ground, clocked up his 500th appearance for the Scholars at Leek.

He becomes only the fourth-ever to reach the figure – and claims he is by no means finished there.

He revealed: "Whether I'm at the local for a pint or shopping with the family, people were coming up to me saying 'it must be getting on for 500 now' – they made sure I knew!"

"I'm just a lad from Chasetown who wants to play football for the local team – and I'll continue to do that for as long as they need me! Andy Cox's record of 535 is the target – I want the outright record."

Slater, a civil engineer, has not always been a part of the semi-professional game.

Chasetown's phenomenal FA Cup successes of the mid-to-late 2000s under Charlie Blakemore brought a feel good factor to Church Lane, as well as putting the club on the national map.

But for Slater, who worked in a family block paving business at the time, it was merely the beginning of a dream.

He recalls: "I was just going about my working life, and all of a sudden you get a call saying Port Vale have offered you an 18-month contract.

"I had to leave the business. Getting used to training every day was difficult – we had to get up to speed pretty quickly. I have no regrets about my nine months there."

Marcus Law took over from Craig Harris in late January, and Slater is very happy to play his part in a new era for the Scholars.

Saturday's home fixture with Goole AFC will be marked with a 'Slater Special Edition' match day programme.

He said: "The lads have been great. They joke I'm Mr Chasetown because of my work and time with the club."