At the tender age of 21, his chances of a quick return to the Football League seem strong.

Indeed, having earned rave reviews since his move into the Conference there have been reports of scouts from Brighton and Crewe monitoring his progress.

And on Saturday Crewe boss Dario Gradi was at The Drill Field to witness the youngster picking up his Britannia Carpets Player of the Month award before the game.

Birch then went on to produce a good personal performance in Vics' 4-0 win over the league leaders which included his first goal in a Green shirt at the 40th attempt.

The player himself is unaware of interest from League clubs.

Birch said: "I've not heard about any clubs being interested. I'm just getting on with my football. I believe that if I am playing my best for Northwich Vics everything else will follow."

A self-effacing man, he is Vics' only ever present this season, underlining his importance to the cause.

For the time being, Birch is 100 per cent committed to the Greens and their bid for honours.

He added: "Everybody is looking forward to the Trophy game. There is a real buzz around the place at the moment but we still want to finish as high as possible in the league as well.

"The players know what a good team we have but we want to prove it to all the other teams in the league by finishing as high up the table as we can."

Having spent most of his time in the reserves at Stoke, playing at right-back and centre-half, Birch is enjoying the adaptability at Northwich.

"I have played in lots of different positions this season, which I have enjoyed. I also think playing at Vics has improved my play because in the reserves at Stoke, players just tended to play for themselves," he added.

"But here, there is a real team spirit and a real committment. When you go out on to the pitch you are playing for the team and the club, not just yourself.

"Basically, the standard of football here is better than in the reserves at Stoke."

Of his own performances for the club, he finds it hard to pick out a favourite game.

"I thought I played alright against Worcester in the Trophy and at Cheltenham but it's hard to say. I just think everybody has been playing really well lately."

Having scored on Saturday he now hopes to add to his goal tally.

"I always used to weigh in with a couple of goals a season at Stoke. I could do with scoring more goals here because I think it is important for everybody in the team to score," added Mark.

Indeed, Vics boss Mark Gardiner has asked Birch to make surging runs down the flank.

"The boss is always encouraging me to get forward but always stresses that my main duty is to defend. I must admit I'm pleased with how I've been playing, particularly considering I'm not used to the left side," concluded Birch.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.