AFC Telford plan for trial games to unearth talent

Telford’s National League North season was declared null and void after a majority vote last month, meaning the Bucks are sidelined from competitive action until the start of next season, dates for which have not been confirmed.

Once restrictions ease later this month, the club are holding trial fixtures at the New Bucks Head to find new talent, and Cowan says the uptake has been ‘huge’.

“We’re now looking at how we can move forward, keep our heads above water, and try to re-set an expectation about what we can or can’t do,” said boss Cowan, whose side were 14th before the season was scrapped. “We’ve looked at how we’re going to move forward.

“We’re looking at running games at the New Bucks Head at the back end of this month and through April.

“We are obviously on the hunt for perspective players for the new season. We’re not in a rush, we’re taking a time on a outlay on the how the club will look but trying to get ahead of the game.

“It’s something we discussed weeks ago, the pitch is immaculate now, we are able to have numerous games. It’ll be in-house, I’ve got a lot of connections all over the country.

“We’ll go through a lot of CVs and recommendations, as you can imagine the uptake is quite big, but it’s an opportunity for people to come and impress.”

The boss added: “We’ve done it (signed from league below) with numerous players in my time and that’s maybe something we’ll have to look at a bit more now in the current climate.”

Cowan says the opportunities for departed duo James Hardy and Lee Vaughan to continue their season at Altrincham and Barnet respectively ‘speaks volumes’ for the club’s recruitment.