PAUL Maitland heaped praise on Weymouth’s Ashley Wells, after the defender agreed terms to remain at the club next season.
Wells, who is now the longest-serving player at the club, is set to stay at the Bob Lucas Stadium under the new regime of boss Mark Molesley and Maitland.
And the Terras’ assistant-manager expressed his delight to keep one of the town’s local talents on board.
“Ash epitomises everything Mark spoke about on Saturday, in terms of desire, attitude and a wanting to play for the shirt,” Maitland told Echosport.
“I think Ash won’t mind me saying that when I first saw him at the club, he had bundles of energy, hard work, aggression and desire but, technically, he was lacking.
“Technically, now there has been a vast improvement (from Wells) in my time of the club.
“That can only help alongside players like Stephane Zubar, Pat Baldwin before him, and Mark himself.
“Ash is now experienced at this level, ticks a lot of boxes for us and is a pleasure to manage. He just comes in and gets on with the job.
“Since he has moved into that sweeper role towards the end of the season, he has really impressed.”
Wells, who joined the Terras from Portland United in February 2012, becomes the second player to be retained by the club, after it was confirmed skipper Zubar would be staying on Saturday.
Maitland added: “Ash is the longest-serving player at the club now.
“Hopefully he will continue to rack up the appearances and become a legend at the club in his own right.
“He is a very valuable member of the squad, on and off the pitch. It’s good because he can connect with the locals in Weymouth as well, he is one of their own.”
