Trafford Sport
Mark Maddox is made a life vice-president of Altrincham FC
12:29pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
MARK Maddox’s status as an Altrincham legend has been officially confirmed after he was made a life vice-president of the club, moments after Tuesday night’s home draw with Hinckley United.
The popular and wholehearted former Alty defender, currently fighting a typically courageous battle against motor neurone disease, was surrounded by old team-mates such as Gary Talbot, Chris Adams and Gary Scott and former manager Graham Heathcote, as he received the honour from chairman Grahame Rowley.
Clearly taken aback by a presentation that had been kept secret, Maddox said: "Everyone knows what this club means to me, and this is another great gesture that just shows the fantastic support I’ve had from everyone here."
After beating Blyth Spartans 2-1 on Saturday, a lacklustre performance against Hinckley left manager Lee Sinnott angry and frustrated, as Alty spurned the chance to make further inroads on the play-off places.
"We only played for about seven minutes, towards the end of the first half," he said.
"We tore them apart and created chances in that brief spell, but for the first 25 minutes, we just didn’t show up. I’ve no qualms about the result, because they deserved a point, but I was unhappy at the way we failed to set the right tempo and never got into our rhythm.
"The players got both barrels at half-time and a bit more at full time. Four points from two games isn’t bad, but the performance was not what we have come to expect, particularly at home."
With a play-off position still within striking distance, Sinnott sounded a positive note for what should be an intriguing run-in.
"With 13 games left, there are still plenty of points up for grabs, and the interesting thing is, we play all the top six sides," he said.
"Nuneaton and Guiseley are away fixtures, but the other four teams all have to come to Moss Lane, so it really is all to play for."