Paul Sheerin

“The biggest goal at this time of year is to get the players fit and get as many minutes into them as you can.

“Arguably it could have been to the detriment of the team and the result when you bring in four or five players who are under the age of 16 and not in with the club full time but that was not the case this evening.

“The pleasing factor for me was going 3-1 down at a stage when we looked a bit vulnerable in terms of crosses coming into the box from set pieces. We managed to gather ourselves and managed to get ourselves back into the game and salvage a draw. We could even have got more from it at the end.

“So I was really pleased with the spirit the players showed.

“You always look at the comparisons from last season to now and there were games when we did lose goals quickly and we suffered from it. We could not pull ourselves back into the game. So at 3-1, with a younger team on the field it was a slight worry but at the same time you are hoping they have learnt from those disappointing experiences last season. They have learnt in those situations who need to sit in and be hard to beat and then build your way back into the game slowly. I thought the players managed the game brilliantly from that point of view.

“We have got four trialists but unfortunately one of them has picked up a hamstring injury and he is out for a few weeks. Ryan Harrington and Jack Breen who started did well within the game and young Jack Allan has just come back from an ankle injury today. We were quite surprised that he managed to be fit so we were pleased to get him into the action. They will be with us for another week and we will have a really good look at them in some of the games. We will give them an opportunity to impress.

“We have plenty of room within the squad to add players but I am not in a huge rush to take players in. We have made rash decisions in the past and with the greatest respect suffered for it. So we are fortunate that we have plenty of time on our hands and we will use that time wisely.

“I am very pleased with Scott’s Anderson’s U17s who came on at half time.

“I thought Nathan Meres gave us the width that we lacked in the first half. He has pace and he looked a threat when we got him on the ball. Young Sean Lindon up top on his own did well.  Jack Chessor is a player who I have had in training and is a player I really like. He needs to get physically stronger but most of them do at this age. I really like the way he plays. Today was a new experience for them and they handled themselves well. So really positive stuff from the younger ones. They did really well in the second half. They stood up to the physical challenge really well.

“We are now off up to Inverness for a few days. In recent seasons we have been to Austria and Portugal so our pre-season trip this year might not be quite as warm! But I am looking forward to taking the boys away and I am looking forward to the games. You train for two weeks solid without any action so having games to look forward is a good thing and it also makes a difference to their training.”

“We are now off up to Inverness for a few days. In recent seasons we have been to Austria and Portugal so our pre-season trip this year might not be quite as warm! But I am looking forward to taking the boys away and I am looking forward to the games. You train for two weeks solid without any action so having games to look forward is a good thing and it also makes a difference to their training.”