Shepherd stays at Seel Park!

We’re delighted to tell you that Will Shepherd has signed a contract extension to stay at Seel Park to the end of the 2024/25 season!

Will spent 8 years at the Rochdale AFC academy, before signing scholarship forms for Salford City, where he captained the youth team to the Alliance League Championship. He went on to sign professional terms at the Peninsula Stadium, making his senior debut in September 2019 against Manchester United. A period of injuries coupled with the pandemic saw Will move to Warrington Town before joining the Lilywhites in 2021. He had a brief spell at Colne before re-joining the Lilywhites where he has never looked back.

The 2022/23 season saw Will cement his place in David Fish’s team as right-back; where he was consistently one of our best performers. This season saw Will start in that role before moving into central midfield, his preferred position, where he has been a revelation for the Lilywhites during an upturn in form.

Fan-favourite Will has made 70 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 5 goals in the process.

Speaking about the news, manager David Fish told us, “I’m delighted that Will has extended his stay with us. He’s been a revelation in his preferred central midfield position in the second-half of the season and at 22 he is only going to get better and better.

“Whilst there’s still a lot of football to be played this season, I’m keen to build for next season too and Shep will be an important part of the spine of that team.”