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'Young guns are staying'

5/ 5/2008

LATICS' boss John Sheridan has issued a 'hands off' warning to clubs interested in taking some of the club's younger players off his hands.

Last Saturday's 4-1 victory at Crewe Alexandra saw several scouts believed to be tracking the likes of Neal Eardley who did his cause no harm with two goals.

Having seen Deane Smalley, Lewis Alessandra and Kelvin Lomax all agree new deals during the season, Sheridan was unsurprised that some of his squad had attracted attention from higher clubs.

He said: "I think we have some players who could play at a higher level. I want to keep them here because I think we're going the right way.

"All the young players are under contract but the thing with them is you get a good game and then a bad game. What I have to get into them is they have to play six good games then a bad one."

Victory at Gresty Road was achieved despite an experimental line-up which saw Chris Taylor moved to left-back, Lomax switched flanks to right-back and Eardley continuing his role in the centre of midfield. The Welshman duly replied with his fifth and sixth goals of the season as Athletic hit four goals on the road for the first time in 2007/08.

Sheridan said: "I thought Neal Eardley was excellent. It's a hard position because you have to do things a lot quicker in midfield, you're defending and attacking but I thought he played really well and scored two excellent goals.

"That's something I'll have to look at because Kelvin Lomax's natural position is right-back, Chris Taylor's played left-back and never let me down, so I know they can play there when they have to."

The three points, coupled with Tranmere Rovers' defeat at Northampton Town, meant Athletic ended the season in eighth place. While that may be considered a disappointment after last season's play-off place, it was achieved by a team forced to blood several teenagers after an injury crisis robbed Sheridan of his senior stars.

Nevertheless, the manager is aiming for an improvement in 2008/09 in a bid to take Athletic out of the third tier of English football.

Sheridan concluded: "Eighth place is respectable but I want to get out of this division. I want competition for places more than anything else; if I get the right players in it'll make us stronger for next season."