Local football fans will know that last season he became the Clubs all time leading goal scorer, scoring twice in a 3-1 victory at Spalding United to move above the previous record of 152 goals held by Dave Sutton during the late 80s, through the 90s up until he left the club in the 2000/2001 season.

But Tim was gracious enough to acknowledge the contribution of Sutton during his time at the club. He said of the record: “Yes it’s great to have finally broken Dave’s record and I’m really happy from a personal point of view, but I am honest enough to admit Dave played for Leek at a higher standard than I am currently, so you have to take that into account.”

Leek Town, and Grice in particular, have made a cracking start to the 2019/20 season in the BetVictor South East Division and by the end of December had climbed to the top of the table, and despite losing to Ilkeston on Saturday, that is where they still sit.

By the start of February Tim had taken his tally for the club to 198 goals, just two away from the magic 200 mark.

As a reward for his continued efforts and service, Tim has been nominated in the Senior Individual category at the Sentinel/City of Stoke-on-Trent Sports Personality Awards by Leek Town Chairman Jon Eeles, who believes the striker deserves to be honoured.

He said: “I was asked by a few people to consider nominating Tim for some recognition, and it was a no-brainer. In an era of non-league football where players move here and there for an extra £10, Tim has remained extremely loyal to the club and is affectionately known as Mr Leek Town by the other players. Since joining us in 2011 from Eccleshall, Tim has gone on to score 198 goals in 366 appearances - a staggering feat in non-league football and we hope that he continues for many seasons to come.

He became the club’s all-time leading goal scorer in 2018 surpassing Dave Sutton’s record, when he scored two goals at Spalding United. He currently heads the league scoring charts for the BetVictor League South East this season and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was nominated for the team of the year again.

Tim is fast approaching the next milestone of 200 goals and 400 appearances plus - only four players previously have achieved this - Dave Sutton, Gary Pearce, Anthony Danylyk and Chris McMullen, all club legends.

The general feeling at the club is that Tim is playing his best football and I believe this is the coaching of manager Neil Baker over the last three seasons. Both him and Darren Chadwick have been a constant in the playing squad since I became chairman, and I have become very fond of them both - they feel more like family than players.

Tim is often the conduit to me from the other players if they need to ask a question or are unsure, a recognition of his maturity from the rest of his peers. I can’t say enough good things about Tim, as he is a thoroughly nice person and he seldom gets booked,” added the chairman.