MATTY Lippett did not envisage one day working for a professional sports club when he started out as a physiotherapist, but joining Barrow Raiders' medical team could hardly have worked out better.

After completing his physiotherapy degree at the University of Salford, Lippett took the traditional route by becoming a rotational physio with the NHS which saw him cover different disciplines, including his now-speciality of treating musculoskeletal injuries.

While he was working in Carlisle, a meeting with Raiders director Phil Heighton opened the door for him to join the club, initially under former Barrow player Marc 'Jugger' Coulson.

Lippett has since succeeded him as the club's head physio and while he admits the differing demands of the professional sporting environment made it a baptism of fire, he is delighted with how the past three seasons have gone.

"It wasn't on my radar, but the opportunity came along after speaking to one of the directors and I thought 'yeah, let's see what it's all about'," said Lippett.

"I came down to training one evening and was hooked on what I could potentially learn. That was three seasons ago and I've enjoyed it ever since.

"Even though it's quite demanding, it's a really good job and I enjoy it."

The 2018 and 2019 Betfred Championship campaigns have thrown up plenty for the medical team at Craven Park to cope with, not least because of the appalling luck the team have had with injuries.

Lippett has been at the front line of dealing with that, whether it be treating players in games or at training, working on rehabilitation and even arranging MRI scans on other days away from the club.

The range of injuries he has dealt with have provided valuable experience though and Lippett is full of praise for the way every player in the squad has made his job of helping them back to fitness easier.

"You see the more acute trauma – dislocations, bad sprains etc," said Lippett. "It's good in one sense because you are getting an extreme range of injuries, which is good for your clinical development because it's that side you don't see often.

"Credit to the players because these guys put their bodies on the line week in, week out and we've got such a short space of time to rehab them as much as we possibly can before we send them back out onto the pitch.

"They're great to work with because they want to get fit and they want to play. It's a great help to me because I'm getting it back as much as I'm putting into them, so it makes the job more pleasurable."

He will again be on duty when Swinton Lions come to town in the Betfred Championship tomorrow, but is down at Craven Park most days now after being able to start up a private practise there.

"It's coming to that time where I feel my knowledge basis has come to the point where I can treat a wide range of injuries with physiotherapy," said Lippett.

"With the NHS, you become quite sheltered as to what conditions you come across and this has been a great stepping stone to developing my own private practise, which has started off really well.

"Hopefully it will continue to develop."