LONG-THROW phenomenon Sam Muggleton has promised York City fans he will hurl the ball further when he uses towels in future matches.

The former Eastleigh left back staggered the Bootham Crescent faithful when a 40-yard missile out of his hands landed on the head of Jon Parkin to secure Tuesday night’s incredible 5-3 victory over Southport.

But the 21-year-old defender has made light of the distance covered, revealing: “I can throw it a bit longer than that, because it was a wet night and I didn’t have any towels.

“I’d like to get some for the next home game because they help me get more distance. I’ve never had the throws measured, but Martin Allen, who was my manager at Gillingham, Barnet and Eastleigh, always told me to use what I’ve got and it does create problems.

“It’s a massive part of my career and always will be for as long as I’m playing.”

Muggleton went on to add that his special talent remained a secret, even to himself, until after he was released from Leicester City’s academy and, one Sunday morning, was tossed the ball by a team-mate in East Midlands parks football.

He also admitted the reasons behind his skill remain a mystery, explaining: “When I was a young player at Leicester, right up to about the age of 13 or 14, I’d never thrown a ball.

“Then, I went into Sunday League football and somebody threw me the ball to take a throw-in and it just went for miles. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve got a flexible back or shoulders, because I’m not the strongest in the gym by any stretch of the imagination.

“I never really work on it in training either. It’s just a natural thing and, with Jon Parkin, he’s a target man who you know will win his headers.”

The Melton Mowbray-born, full back never applied his throwing ability to field sports at school or looked to leading long-throw exponent Rory Delap for inspiration either.

“I’ve never studied him and I never thought I’d make a career out of something like that, but I get compared to him all the time now,” the 5ft 11in defender smiled.

Muggleton was handed his Minstermen debut as a 64th-minute substitute just after Parkin had levelled the scores at 3-3 against Southport.

He went on to reason that he is used to being thrown on when games are delicately poised, so wasn’t daunted by entering the proceedings during a vital contest for his new team.

“With my long throw, I’m used to coming on to try and change a game by flinging the ball into the box to create a few chances and, fortunately for me, one of them paid off,” he pointed out.

Having discussed the move to Bootham Crescent with his father Carl – a former Football League keeper with more than 550 appearances to his name – Muggleton junior also expressed his shock at the morale within City’s ranks despite the side sitting third-bottom in the National League standings.

He even suggested the team spirit is as good as when he was part of the Barnet side that clinched the division’s title in 2014/15.

“My old man had a couple of relegation battles including one I witnessed at Chesterfield and he told me that, sometimes, when you’re in these situations, everything’s not always happy, but the lads get on really well here,” Muggleton ventured.

“At 3-1 down, like we were on Tuesday, you’re thinking it might be a long evening, but they scored three incredible goals that you’d never normally see and, from being here just a few days, I knew the lads were mentally strong so it wasn’t really a surprise that we came back, because the place is buzzing. Getting to Wembley has obviously helped that, but I’ve never walked into somewhere this happy when I didn’t quite know what to expect and thought it might be a bit morbid.

“At Eastleigh, there were a lot of comings and goings and my confidence had dropped a bit, because I didn’t play much, but this seems like the happiest squad I’ve ever seen, which is great because I believe the squad have to be close as possible. I had that when we won this league with Barnet and it’s the same here.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to do too many more comebacks, but it’s good to have that mental strength in the changing room and I think the results will keep coming.”

The new recruit is not fazed either by the pressurised environment of preventing City dropping into the realms of regionalised football and welcomes more chances to impress in North Yorkshire.

“Eastleigh just didn’t want me - I don’t think,” he said. “They had quite a few left backs and it didn’t quite work out there.

“This is now a new test in a big city at a big club who were relegated unfortunately last season, but it’s a good challenge for me to try and help keep the club up now.”