 He scored on his debut at inside-left, a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic at Vale Park on 13 December, and was a regular throughout the rest of the club's 1969–70 promotion winning side.The club paid the £500 registration fee to sign him permanently, in the knowledge that his cricket commitments meant he would miss the last four games anyway.However, he retired from football at the end of that season, in order to focus on his cricket.