DANNY Forrest was delighted with the response to Silsden's first trial for their new under-21’s side.

The replacement for the club's reserve/development team will play in the West Riding Under-21 League.

Following last Tuesday’s open trial for the new venture, first team boss Forrest said: “We had 35 lads down there and all the coaching staff were amazed by the quality of player that had come along.

“Our biggest problem will be whittling down the numbers. It’ll be difficult because even though it was an open trial the standard was very good and most of the 35 lads impressed us.

“We’ve been placed in the top division of the league and there are 16 teams in it so we’ll have 30 games in the coming season so we will need a big squad.

“There are some very good clubs in it, like Harrogate Town, Halifax Town, Brighouse Town, so it’s an attractive league and we want to make our under-21 side an attractive proposition for good players in the area.

“We want to create a pathway into our first team and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the players who turned up on Tuesday are in our side a couple of years down the line.”

The next step is to get the new group training together and then into some friendly fixtures before the league starts. The club then hopes that local businesses will help with the cost by sponsoring the new team.

Forrest added, “The vast majority will be invited back and then Paul Evans, who is managing the team, and his assistant Kev Whittaker can get working with them. There will be a couple of training sessions this week and a first game a week later.

“We want to see what the players’ characters are like because when they come in for a first session there are nerves and they don’t know each other. Paul and Kev will give them good guidance, put them in match situations in training and will see a big difference in them in a couple of weeks.”