Shropshire Star

Kevin Wilkin wants to increase Telford options

AFC Telford United boss Kevin Wilkin has admitted he remains concerned at the quality of options on his substitutes’ bench, writes Dan Stacey.

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The Bucks made just one substitution against Kettering on Tuesday night, with Ty Webster replacing hat-trick hero Reece Styche on 80 minutes.

At Leamington on Saturday, Wilkin opted against using his bench completely, and he admitted it is not the most ideal situation to face given their small squad.

“We’ve found in the past that during delicate stages of games and perhaps I’ve not quite had the confidence to make changes with some of the personnel we’ve got sitting there,” Wilkin said. “I need to gain that confidence in people because there does need to be changes.”

He continued: “That confidence comes from seeing them doing better in training, and then doing better when they get their chance to go out on the field.”

Telford have fielded the same squad of 16 players for the past three games and have made just four substitutions in that time.

They did use their full quota in the Alvechurch game, but all three came at separate points during injury time as Telford looked to wind down the clock.

The Bucks boss is keen to bring more quality into his squad, especially ahead of a busy winter period in the Southern Central Premier.

And he is hopeful that having seen the impact made by new signings Styche and Sam Whittall, funds will be made available for him to further strengthen his squad.