"I count myself lucky to have him" - Telford star tipped for leadership role by Kevin Wilkin as Bucks boss heaps praise on Venezuelan defender
Kevin Wilkin believes Oliver Cawthorne has shown he is captain material this season, and admitted he 'counts himself lucky' to have the Telford defender in his squad.
The Venezuelan-born defender, whose full name is Oliver Marco Cawthorne Bandres, joined the club towards the back end of last season after spells playing in Venezuela and Panama, and quickly became a key figure in the Telford side that earned promotion to the National League North.
The Bucks boss retained the services of the centre back for the 2025/26 season in the summer, and admitted he is delighted with the level of performances he has seen from the giant defender so far.
"For somebody playing at this level for the first time he has been absolutely terrific," Wilkin began. "I know he's played some football abroad, but certainly in the UK this is the highest quality division he's played in and he's another lad who has been absolutely fantastic.
"It took Oliver a little while to adjust, but as soon as I saw him in training and saw the qualities and attributes that he has I was very much taken to him.
"He's brave, he's strong, he's quick, and he's a fantastic character.
"I would imagine one day Oliver will go on to captain a team, that's the regard that I hold him in.
"There were some people that questioned Oliver at the start of the reason, and I remember specifically it happened at the fans forum, but I think he's answered all of those questions so far and he'll continue to improve, there are no doubts about that for me.
"Along with a lot of the others in the group he's someone that hasn't reached the levels we believe he can reach yet, and hopefully there's a real degree of improvement and development in all of them.
"The way that he conducts himself around the place is exactly how you'd want your players to be, and I'm pleased to say we have lots of players like that in the group.
"Since Oliver's come in he's been terrific to work with, he's wanted to improve all the time and really focuses and puts 100 per cent effort into his training.
"The levels that he's shown again and again this season have been excellent, and I count myself lucky to have him in the group."
