Tireless midfielder Dan Quigley has been hailed as King's Lynn Town's marathon man.

The 23-year-old was at his lung-busting best on Saturday to help the Linnets beat big-spending Evo-Stik Premier Division high-fliers AFC Fylde.

But his boss Gary Setchell fails to understand how the fans' favourite can keep turning in such high-energy performances.

Lynn's manager, who joked that the player known as Quigz is fuelled by Carling beer, said: 'He just doesn't stop.

'It's how he is. As a lad, he's just one of them freaks. I don't think his diet is too great. It's just when he crosses the white line he's got that unbelievable desire to win. Some players have to work at it but he's naturally fit. He probably doesn't do a lot pre-season – that will catch up with him eventually, he's still 23 – but we're trying to educate him, we're trying to work with him.

'Performances like Saturday from young players like Ryan Fryatt, goalkeeper (Liam Mitchell), Dan Quigley, Jordan Yong, Sam (Mulready), Jack McGovern, Massiah McDonald – that's what pleases me most.'

The former Long Buckby central-midfielder has been the heartbeat of Lynn's engine room since he arrived at The Walks in June 2012.

He helped inspire Setchell's side to the Evo-Stik Division One South title and has already made 27 appearances for the Linnets this term. But his man-of-the-match display at the weekend was widely recognised as his best since making the progression to Step Three of the non-league ladder.

'He epitomised the team. It was a Quigley type of game,' added Setchell.

'We were 1-0 up, hanging in, and he made five, six, seven last-ditch tackles and used the ball well. When he plays like that you can see why we work hard with him and we persevere with him. Sometimes he doesn't have great games with the ball but on Saturday he was fantastic without the ball and just as good with it. It was near-enough a complete midfielder's performance.'

Quigley was recently placed on a contract – alongside a host of other young starlets at Norfolk's premier semi-professional outfit – to keep him at the club until the end of the 2014/15 season.

He arrived at The Walks under something of a cloud having celebrated Buckby's pivotal UCL victory over Lynn wildly in front of his future club's supporters. But he has since won them over with his all-action displays in the middle of the park.