Mayo's McNicholas making his mark as Savage’s number 1

Belcarra native Luke McNicholas has been handed the gloves at Forest Green Rovers after a summer departure from Wrexham AFC.

Robbie Savage, the former Premier League midfielder turned pundit, is now the face on the sideline in the Cotswolds, and he has wasted no time in nailing his colours to McNicholas.

The Mayo man has been installed as his first-choice keeper for the opening games in the English conference league, a show of faith that is already being rewarded.

McNicholas cut his teeth with Manulla FC locally before climbing into League of Ireland circles with Sligo Rovers, where he was always tipped for a bigger stage.

That step looked like it might come at Wrexham, the Hollywood-backed club that made headlines internationally with its ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny.

Phil Parkinson, their long-serving manager, admitted he wanted to keep McNicholas around in Wales but could hardly begrudge him the chance to finally be a No 1 keeper.

Now at Forest Green, it appears the 25-year-old is grasping it, with two clean sheets in the opening 5 clashes.

An opening-day 2-2 draw with Solihull Moors was followed by a first clean sheet of the season, a 2-0 victory over Yeovil Town, with McNicholas calm and commanding throughout. Last night they defeated Sutton United 4-0

The Gloucestershire club sit third in the National League, with strong ambitions of promotion to the English football league this season.