Worksop Town defender Josh Wilde retires after 168 appearances and two promotions

Worksop Town defender Josh Wilde has retired from football. The 34-year-old joined in June 2022 and made 168 appearances, scoring 20 goals, as the Tigers rose from Step 4 to Step 2. He featured consistently in both promotion-winning sides and won three Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cups in three years, playing in two of the finals.

Wilde said he had been thinking about retiring at the end of the season, when he would turn 35. "I think a large part of it is being in non-league for a long time, since I was 18, and it's a huge commitment," he said. He cited a full-time job, a young child and limited game time. "All I kept thinking about was I could have been using that time to spend with family, the little one and the missus."

Of his time at the club, he said: "It's been absolutely amazing. Obviously, when I joined, I dropped two divisions to come to Worksop." He said he would miss the dressing room most. "That's definitely the thing that I'm going to miss more than playing, to be honest." He added that he would be back to watch: "I'll be one of them now, coming back to support Worksop Town."

Before Worksop, Wilde's career took in Buxton, Gainsborough Trinity, North Ferriby, FC Halifax Town, Alfreton Town and AFC Mansfield. He won the FA Trophy at Wembley against Wrexham with North Ferriby and went up to the National League via the playoffs with FC Halifax Town.

Worksop Town return after two weeks off with an FA Trophy game against South Shields at the KC Sofas Stadium on Saturday 14 November, kicking off at 3pm.