Scarborough Athletic boss Kelly’s aiming to keep loan stars Whitley and Spence

Scarborough Athletic manager Darren Kelly is hoping to extend the loan deals for Ryan Whitley and Kian Spence before they expire on New Year’s Day.
On loan goalkeeper Ryan WhitleyOn loan goalkeeper Ryan Whitley
On loan goalkeeper Ryan Whitley

York City stopper Whitley and FC Halifax Town youngster Spence impressed for Athletic before the NPL season was paused due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Kelly confirmed he will be looking to extend the loan deals but admits the uncertainty over when NPL fixtures will finally get back under way may muddy the waters.

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“Both loan deals run out at the end of the week and we will be speaking to York City and FC Halifax to see what can be done to keep Kian and Ryan with us for longer,” said the Boro boss.

“It’s really tricky at the moment with us not playing games and with no real clarity on when we’ll be back.

“From both sides, that makes it harder with all the uncertainty as the whole point in a loan move is to get game time that they may otherwise not get at their parent club.

“We will be in touch to see what can be done as both have done well for us and are key to our plans going forward.”

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The Boro boss was impressed with the impact the York gloveman made before the NPL ground to a halt.

“Ryan came in and made an instant impact,” added Kelly.

“You need a commanding goalkeeper who will communicate with his defence, come off his line and dominate his box and show a safe pair of hands, and Ryan did just that.

“Ryan wants to stay, he wants to get the game time he needs and he knows that he will get that with us, should we be able to get back under way.”

Kelly added that Spence is being assessed at Halifax after suffering a knee injury.

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“Kian has picked up a knee problem so he is being assessed at Halifax, so we will need to see what the diagnosis is before deciding on that one.”

Kelly confirmed his side played a training game last week to get some minutes in - Boro drawing 3-3 with Garforth Town at York St John University.

The Boro boss was particularly pleased that new signing Connor Simpson got some minutes under his belt - bagging a brace.

“It was good to get some minutes in, particularly for Connor,” said Kelly.