LEPTON Highlanders’ first-ever District League title triumph has already led to talk of moving up to the West Riding County Amateur League.

But club stalwart Brian Taylor is adamant they should walk before they try to run and follow the likes of Bay Athletic, Meltham and Kirkburton in stepping up.

“We’re ambitious and growing and we now have some excellent facilities,” said secretary Taylor.

“But we’ve only just proved ourselves the best side in the District League and we have to establish ourselves at this level before thinking of going anywhere else.”

The catalyst for this season’s success under Jimmy Martin, the Lepton-based Glaswegian who is hugely experienced in non-league football circles (Bradley Rangers, Emley and Ossett Albion), was the arrival of a string of Leeds-based students.

“Chris Gillespie, who has been at Lepton since childhood, studies over there and he persuaded a number of his mates to come over,” explained Taylor, who also took huge satisfaction from the team’s run to the semi-finals of the District FA Challenge Cup (they were finally beaten by County Amateur League side Storthes Hall).

“Jimmy had arrived in the September of last season. We were struggling at the time, but he got things working on the right lines and managed to stave off relegation.

“He put a lot of little things into place that had a big effect, things like proper gear for training and the warm-up and insisting lads attended the sessions and arrived bang on time.

“Basically, he provided unity and discipline and ran everything on what might be termed more professional lines, and the players responded to that.

“The influx of the new faces added to what we already had, and this season has been really enjoyable.”

Lepton won 16 and lost just three of their 20 games, but Taylor paid tribute to runners-up Britannia Sports, who finished seven points behind, saying: “They kept up the pressure on us throughout.

“One of our advantages was having a settled squad, and experienced lads like Paul Gilbertson, Shaun Joyce and Mark Whiteley have been key players.

“Craig Hall has proved to be a real handful for opposition defenders, while of the newer players, Scott Dean, Jamie Instone, Rob Young and John Thompson have done well.

“There has also been a big input from the Mitchell brothers, Greg and Tom, who have both been with the club since they were juniors, Ross Martin, Stephen Brown, Bruce Atkinson, James Mwale and Shaun Winterbottom.

“Off the field, Jimmy has had great back-up from Jamie Shipman and Eddie Martin, while Steve Hewitt has done a great job with the second team (who finished third in Reserve Division I) and Danny Mulhall and Nick Turner with the Works League side.

“We’ll be running three open-age teams again next season, and the club also have thriving junior and women’s sections.

“The female side, in particular, has really taken off over the last few years, and we’ve had some real success in that area.

“We’ve got a good relationship with the two local junior schools (Lepton CE and Rowley Hill) which means we can use their facilities to help cater for all our teams, and it’s great to see so many youngsters playing football.”