Greenhalgh: It will be a learning curve for our talented U23s

GATE TEENAGERS TO BE GIVEN PRE-SEASON CHANCE

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BEN GREENHALGH intends to reward Margate’s very successful U23s side with the opportunity to join the first team in pre-season.

The Margate player-manager is keen to show there is a well-trodden pathway from the east Kent club's youth teams to senior set up by having a handful of U23s join his team as they prepare for another assault on the Isthmian League South East Division title.

Greenhalgh intends to have a squad of around 18 for the coming season at Step 4 but has plans to dip into Tur Hoxha’s U23s should he need to bolster that number.

“We want to make sure we have a strong 18 and then if we need to dip in, then we have the U23s” Greenhalgh explained. “We're going to have a couple of the U23s that impressed last year in for pre-season with us. We saw them do so well in the cup final so we're going to get a couple of them in and hopefully try to push them on a little bit. Last summer they were probably a step too early, being 16 years old, but if we can involve them a little bit in pre-season as 17 year olds, then that would be an unbelievable experience for them.