High target raised the bar for goal ace Boyes

ADAM Boyes has begged Marske United boss Carl Jarrett to go easy on him this summer after bagging the Golden Boot trophy.

Former York City and Scunthorpe striker Boyes, 31, scored 46 goals last season – the most across Steps 1-4, FA Trophy and FA Cup.

It was enough to seal Marske promotion to the NPL Premier – but not to satisfy the demands of tough taskmaster Jarrett! “At the start of the season, the manager set me a target,” explained Boyes. “He said ‘You better get me 44 goals this year’.

At one point I was well above a goal per game, but I was stuck on 43 for about fi ve or six games.

“Every time we trained he’d be going ‘What’s up Boyesy, have you bottled it now you’re so close?’ I kept saying ‘No, don’t worry, I’ll get them’.

“At the end of the season Carl came up to me and said ‘Well done mate, but you should have got 60!’.

I was like ‘Sixty goals in a season – I’m not Messi or Ronaldo!’. It just doesn’t happen. “I don’t know what he’s going to set for me this year.

I just hope it’s not that many because it’s obviously a miles better level!”

Boyes – a prolifi c scorer at Steps 1 and 2 for the likes of Barrow and Guiseley – has yet to commit to Marske but says he is eager for another season at Mount Pleasant.

“I’m looking to get something sorted,” said Boyes, who combines his goalscoring heroics with a full-time job as a PE teacher.

“There’s loads of local teams so we’ll have to wait and see, but I’d love to stay at Marske. It’s just so convenient.

The ground is literally seven minutes from my house.

“I’ve had a few offers to go back higher, but I’ve done a lot of travelling over the years. At Barrow, it took me three hours to get to a home game.

Even in National North, you’re going to places like Gloucester and Hereford.

“With my job, I couldn’t do it anyway, but the thought of an overnight stay – I can’t think of anything worse.

I’m very happy at this level and I think that shows on the pitch.” Boyes, though, says he was helped by a powerful Marske side that fi nished second in NPL East before beating local rivals Stockton Town 2-1 in the play-off fi nal.

“We had quite a strong team and I got great service,” he said.

“As a forward, when you get on a bit of a roll, it feels like you can’t stop scoring. Usually that comes in spells but for me it lasted all year. It was just one of those freak seasons, really.”

HOT-SHOT: Marske United’s Adam Boyes