Wilson joins the 100 club

Athletic defender Brian Wilson (right)

Athletic's versatile defender Brian Wilson has joined the 100 club.

The 34-year-old came on for the injured Anthony Gerrard on Saturday against local rivals Bury, penning his name into the club’s record books as it was his 100th league appearance.

Wilson said: “I’m delighted, I’ve fully enjoyed my time here and to get to 100 league appearances makes me overjoyed and very pleased."

Wilson joined the club in the summer of 2014 from Colchester United, linking up with manager Lee Johnson, who he played with at Bristol City.

“I initially signed a two year deal so I knew I wouldn’t reach the 100 mark even if I played every game for the two seasons, but I knuckled down, worked hard and I’ve ground out a few more years,” Wilson added.

The hard work paid off when he was given a one-year contract extension over the summer by John Sheridan, giving him the chance to go for a century of league games.

Latics are the third club he has reached the milestone with after having previously played 128 league matches for Cheltenham as well as 151 league appearances for the U's.

Asked about his longevity in the game, Wilson said: “The older you get the harder it gets, when you’re younger you can kind of get away with what you eat and how you are away from football.

“Now I’m older and have children I’ve mellowed down and I look after myself a lot better than I did do when I was younger and I think that has stood me in good stead.

“I still mess about and play tricks with the younger lads, I’m still young at heart, but more professional with what I do away from football.”

Meanwhile, Athletic's youth team are into the semi final of the Lancashire FA Professional Youth Cup following a 2-1 win against Bury.

Festus Arthur gave Athletic an early lead, before Bury equalised just before the break through Ryan Cooney.

With time running out, it would be Athletic who grabbed the deciding goal after 86 minutes.

A calm finish into the bottom corner from Francois Antoine secured the victory and set up a semi final clash against Preston North End.

Details of that clash will be released in due course.