South Shields joint-boss and former Seasider Graham Fenton sings the praises of Blackpool loanee Myles Boney

The goalkeeper spent the season on loan with the north-east outfit in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

And the 22-year-old has been a pivotal figure for Fenton and fellow manager Lee Picton, whose side sat 12 points clear at the top of the table when their campaign was declared null and void.

Former forward Fenton, who spent two seasons at Bloomfield Road (2001/03), told The Gazette: “Myles has been brilliant. He’s been great to have around the club and we’re delighted with him.

“His performances have been really strong all year, and he’s a really good character to have around the dressing room and the team.

“We knew we were getting a good goalkeeper when we took him and that’s proved to be the case.”

Fenton, who made 20 appearances in his first Blackpool season and scored five times, added: “We’ve taken a few players from the north-west this season as we’ve forged a good relationship with an agent across there.

“He brought Myles onto our radar. We did our due diligence and digging before deciding to bring him in. We’re delighted we did.

“We actually loaned out our number one keeper from the previous season to Darlington.

“We had Myles and a young keeper vying for the number one shirt and Myles has pretty much kept it all season. He’s deserved that because of his performances.”

Boney, who made his debut for the Seasiders in 2015, has gained valuable game-time at Mariners Park.

He has played only six games for Blackpool but has also enjoyed loan spells with Nantwich Town and Solihull Moors. Boney came through the Seasiders’ youth system and penned a new two-year deal last summer.

Fenton added: “He’s still only young, so time is on his side. We’re still unsure of the situation as there have been a couple managerial changes at the Blackpool end since we brought Myles in.

“We’re in a bit of discussion to see what is happening going forward. Nothing has been decided in terms of him going back to Blackpool or not, so we’ll just keep that dialogue open.

“But you know what it’s like these days – most of it is done through agents rather than actually speaking to the managers. We’re just waiting to hear back from the agent to see what the situation is. We’ll keep an eye on it.”

When asked if Boney is still keen to make it at Bloomfield Road, Fenton added: “You’d have to speak to Myles about that.

“I think he’s enjoyed this season because he’s played an awful lot of games. I think it’s the most he’s played in one season.

“We have a hectic schedule at this level, so we have an awful lot of games to get through.

“He’s enjoyed it but it’s hit him hard at times because he’s not been used to it, but I think that’s been good for his development.

“We’re in a bit of an unusual situation, particularly with what’s happening in the world at the moment.

“Everything is on hold at the minute, so it’s not easy for people to make decisions over players.

“Our season has just been declared null and void, which is obviously disappointing.

“It’s different at League level, so it’s hard at the moment to make any decisions because we’re on two completely different strategies.

“Blackpool are waiting on their league to start up again, whereas we’ve been told ours is finished. It’s frustrating and it’s disappointing.”

Before joining Blackpool, Fenton played in the top flight for Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City.