Macclesfield’s Danny Elliott was left feeling on cloud nine after being named the Step 3&4 Player of the Year at the National Game Awards in association with Isuzu.
Elliott netted 35 times to fire Macclesfield to the Northern Premier League in emphatic fashion, with Robbie Savage’s side breaking the century mark and finishing 26 points clear of closest challengers Worksop Town.
Having played a central part in one of the most dominant teams in English football this season, including a 12-game winning streak to end the campaign, the former Scunthorpe and Boston United man was left bursting with joy after receiving his well-deserved accolade.
“It’s an honour to win this award,” said Elliott. “It’s brilliant to be here and to end a brilliant season with some accolades means a lot. It’s an honour. There are a lot of good players across Step 3 and Step 4 so it is brilliant to win this award and I really appreciate it.
“There’s a great buzz around the club. We won the league mid-March and finished with 12 wins in a row so there was a real togetherness with the club.
“It is a brilliant place to be and I’m looking forward to next season as well.
“Robbie’s a big character. He has his ways but I really enjoy him, he is approachable and we can speak to him. You can give him your opinion and he’ll listen.
“He knows when to put his arm around somebody and when to shout and he has managed me well, especially when my confidence was low and wasn’t scoring at first.”
The National Game Awards is a celebration of the non-League season – highlighting the community, fans, on-field, and off-field successes of the game outside of the Football League.
The ceremony is held annually by the Non-League Paper, the UK’s number one selling football title and the best place for your non-league news, with this year’s edition hosted at Plough Lane – home of AFC Wimbledon.
Elliott added: “There are a lot of good players in non-league. I’ve played in different steps in Non-League and in League 2 as well and it’s really important to celebrate them and the place that football plays in the community across the country.
“It’s vital to celebrate non-league and the clubs, players and the fans. It’s a brilliant part of our culture.”
The Non-League Paper is the UK’s number one selling football title, available every Sunday. For more information please visit www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com
Image credit: Matt Bristow
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