 On 13 March, Richards scored his first professional hat-trick in six years, during a 5–0 win over Chesterfield at Saltergate; he scored with a lob, a long range strike with his left foot, and a header.He finished the campaign with a tally of 22 goals – more than double his tally for the previous season, and was the club's top scorer for the second consecutive season.Richards was eager to stay at the club, and signed a new contract to keep him in Burslem until the summer of 2012.