Warrington Rylands, chasing Workington for the NPL West title and promotion, have signed former Barrow favourite Paddy Lacey.
The tenacious mid-fielder – who has also stepped into the ring for a fledgling professional boxing career – has joined ambitious Rylands from Chester.
Lacey, 28, has reshaped his life after a short spell in prison following a visit to the Glastonbury Festival when he was found with drugs and counterfeit notes.
When he was released from prison he turned to boxing and has also revived his football career which had temporarily stalled.
He had started with Sheffield Wednesday youth section and joined Bradford City in 2011 without making the first team, sparking a sequence of moves in non-league.
He played at Southport, Vauxhall Motors, Droylsden and Altrincham before arriving at Barrow in 2013 where he had the best spell of his career, staying three seasons and clocking up 89 appearances with four goals.
His form there earned him a move into the Football League with Accrington Stanley but it all started to turn sour for him in November 2016 when he tested positive for cocaine.
He was given a 14-month ban and released the following May by Stanley but it got worse when he attended the Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and found in possession of cocaine, MDMA and more than £500 in counterfeit notes.
Lacey served only five months of the 16 month sentence but then had four months on tag.
When he got back into football he snapped his cruciate ligament and broke and dislocated his arm, which could have been worse as he contacted sepsis after his cruciate operation and lost three stones in weight.
It was part of his recovery, that he turned to boxing and has got him re-building his life positively. Wins in his first two fights, playing football again with Stalybridge Celtic and more recently Chester, and a flourishing carpet fitting business have turned his life round,
Rylands are currently third in the table, two points behind the Reds, but have played two games more. They are split by Marine who are a point behind the Cumbrians from a game more.
On Saturday Lacey is set for his debut in Cumbria at next-to-bottom Kendal Town. Reds visit Ramsbottom while Marine are at home to Clitheroe.
