Young guns to be handed chance to reignite Baffins Milton Rovers season after recent struggles

Shaun Wilkinson will turn to youth in a bid to get Baffins Milton Rovers' Wessex League Premier Division season back on track.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Baffins boss says he'll include several of the club's promising under-18s players in his match-day squad for the visit of bottom-side Amesbury on Saturday.

Wilkinson has stuck by those who got the Portsmouth-based side off to such a good start this season - despite seeing his troops pick up just two points from a possible 15 in the league in their past five outings.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Teenager Ethan Gee, left, has made four Baffins Milton Rovers first-team appearances this seasonTeenager Ethan Gee, left, has made four Baffins Milton Rovers first-team appearances this season
Teenager Ethan Gee, left, has made four Baffins Milton Rovers first-team appearances this season

Wilkinson has shown faith in the club's youth throughout the campaign with teenagers Ethan Gee, Liam Brewer, Owen Pelham and Bailey Neil among those who have been handed first-team opportunities.

And the Baffins boss feels bludgeoning some young guns against Amesbury could provide the spark needed to reignite their season.

‘Saturday I’ll be completely freshening it up, we need to get some younger legs in the time,’ revealed Wilkinson.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘I’ve got under-18s that I’ll be using, lads who maybe haven’t had a game and possible fetch one or two in.

‘We need to freshen it up, we need a spark from somewhere, at the moment I just can’t see where our next win is going to come from.

‘The thing with the youngsters, they’ve never let us down, there’s youthful exuberance, they run around, they try hard, they try hard and don’t give you any back chat - they’re an absolute pleasure to work with.’

Baffins have gone from serious title contenders to virtually out of the championship race in the space of a few weeks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A run of three defeats and two draws has seen them drop down to fourth in the table, now eight points off leaders Horndean with a game in hand.

Wilkinson added: ‘We just need to break the cycle and get a win, they don’t become bad players overnight, form is everything and we’re out of form at the minute.’

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.