Jonathan North has his eye on a double celebration this summer.
Wealdstone’s Mr Safe Hands claimed a fifth clean sheet in a row in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Lewes to send Gordon Bartlett’s side 10 points clear of nearest challengers Dulwich Hamlet, ahead of the clash between the two sides at The Vale on Saturday.
However, when he is not being mighty with the gloves, the journalism student is knee deep in his final year dissertation.
Relax Stones fans – he has no plans to hang up the gloves in favour of the pen just yet, but it does mean he has double cause to hope the champagne will be flowing in the coming weeks.
He said: “I’m in my final year now, so hopefully I can celebrate with graduation and promotion.
“I’m looking into my options but for now just concentrating on thinking about playing next season, hopefully in the Conference South.
“If we do our job we will be okay, so we are not talking about promotion much as such, but very aware of the situation we are in.”
If Stones can get over the line this time it will be a case of third time lucky after narrowly missing out in play-off semi-final exits the last two years.
It has been an emotional journey for North, ruled out of the final push two years ago by a horrific double leg break which ruled him out for almost a year.
Even when he did return at the back end of last season, a struggle to recapture his pre-injury form meant the former Watford man had to suffer from the bench as Stones came up short a second time.
However, far from being about personal redemption, North insists the whole team is using those disappointments to fuel this season’s push as a thank you to boss Bartlett and the fans for sticking with them through it all.
He said: “The disappointments of missing out the last two years just make us all the more determined to do it this time.
“From a team point of view, we have been so close the last few years, so this is for Gordon and the coaching staff who have stuck by me and some of the other lads in particular.
“As a group we are so desperate to go up and do it for the fans.”
The sequence of games without conceding a goal is helping of course.
It is almost 500 minutes since North and the back four have been breached and, given recent history, North is happy to be playing his part in the push for glory.
North added: “It was tough last year coming back in when I probably wasn’t at my best and even this season I knew it would be a tough campaign for me and I have had to stick with it at times, so clean sheets are a great reward for all the hard work.”
