Alex midfielder Ryan Wintle says he wants to use the security of his new contract to push on and continue to improve as a professional footballer. The former Alsager Town man, 20, has penned a new deal to take him through to the summer of 2020, and he now wants to regain full fitness and repay the faith David Artell has shown in him.

Wintle was handed his debut by former manager Steve Davis back in November 2015, but it is under Artell where he has really found his feet at first-team level. He was a regular under the club’s former promotion winning captain until he unfortunately fractured his tibia against Carlisle back in September.

Now well on the road to recovery, Wintle told iFollow the Alex: “It is nice to have signed a new contract and to have the manager show that faith in me. I came into the team at the back end of last season and was playing this season until the injury, so it is nice to be rewarded.

“This gaffer particularly has played me, so I want to get back as soon as I can and help the team. I want to repay the faith, the manager and the club have shown me. I want to push on and keep on improving.

“I have a few more years ahead of me here and I want to keep on improving and become a better footballer.

“I didn’t come through the Academy like a lot of the others here, but I was at Alsager and Crewe gave me the opportunity to become a professional. I think I owe them just as much as someone who has come through the ranks and I have learned a lot since coming here.”

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