Reynolds ready for record 500th start

Colin Reynolds says he is happy to "bide my time" and wait to see if he can win a regular place with Aberystwyth Town FC. He turned 40 at the start of the month so it might be asked how much more time he has available but having just clocked up 500 starting appearances in the Welsh Premier League it would be folly to assume anything is beyond his powers of endurance.

Presentation
The League will make a special presentation to him on Saturday when Aberystwyth take on The New Saints FC before live television cameras. He is the first player to reach the milestone of 500 starts which coincided with the home game with Airbus UK FC two weeks ago when players of both teams formed a guard of honour. Reynolds played for Newtown AFC in the inaugural League season of 1992/93 and has taken part in every subsequent season, fortunate to encounter only two bad injuries in that time. In the early days he was a striker, later converted into a midfielder and in the autumn days of his career he has won plaudits as a resolute defender.

In Europe
He was part of the Newtown team who finished runners-up to Barry Town FC in 1995/96 and again two years later, achievements which gave them a place in Europe. "I played against Skonto [FC, of Latvia] in the UEFA Cup and later against Wisła Kraków when we held them to a goalless draw at home," said Reynolds. "They were undoubtedly the highlights of my career. Some might say Newtown were punching above their weight to finish runners-up but we had an excellent team and deserved our success."

'Bide my time'
Ten seasons in the League with his hometown club ended when Reynolds joined near-neighbours Caersws FC in 2002/03. At the start of this season he was on the move again, linking up at Aberystwyth with Brian Coyne who was the manager throughout his time at Newtown. "All Brian said to me when I signed was that his best two players at that time were the centre-halves and it was a matter of biding my time," Reynolds added.

'Builder by trade'
"I'm happy to do that but I'd rather play every week. It takes me longer these days to recover from games but I'd still be prepared to play two or three times a week. I don't really feel any different to what I did ten years ago. I'm a builder by trade so I guess all the moving around and lifting keeps me fit. I've been saying for about the last five seasons that this will be my last. I did think this one would be the last but now I'm not so sure..."