Chelmsford City have received a boost ahead of their Essex County Cup quarter final match against Aveley on Monday night.
Highly-rated defender Mark Haines is expected to sign a contract extension with the Blue Square South club shortly, adding a further year to his existing deal with the Clarets.
City take-on the Ryman League Premier Division outfit in the last eight of the Senior Cup aiming to take another step towards the defence of their silverware at Melbourne and the news regarding former West Ham United talent Haines is likely to lift spirits further after a successful festive period which has seen Glenn Pennyfather’s side gather seven points from three games against Thurrock (twice) and Dover Athletic.
Speaking of the club’s policy to give youth a chance, Chelmsford’s Head Coach said: “Mark has come on in unbelievable leaps and bounds since the start of the season and he’s surprised everyone by how quickly he’s been learning. He has been with us for about a year and maybe got his chance a little early because of the injuries we had at the start of the season but he’s taken it and he’s desperate to play for Chelmsford City.”
Ricky Modeste has also emerged from the reserves to feature alongside some exceptional prospects in the first-team and Pennyfather added: “It isn’t just Mark who’s come on well. The team that started against Thurrock contained some very young players and it sends a message that this is a progressive club. If you come here and work hard to improve you’ll be rewarded. It was part of my description when I took the job to reduce the average age of the side and we have some exciting prospects coming through.”
Of more immediate focus is the visit of Rod Stringer’s Millers, who threaten City’s progress having knocked-out Billericay Town and Brentwood Town already. “This will be a tough game as we’ve had Aveley watched like we do with all our opponents and they have some good players,” Pennyfather explained of the mid-table side who won promotion from Division One North last year. “It’s a no lose situation for them but this is a big game for both clubs as a place in the semis is at stake. We’ll be under no illusions.”
Chelmsford will play a strong side in search of a third successive final, though the condition of some players will have to be re-visited before a final eleven is settled upon.
Pennyfather updated: “We have a lot of knocks but we’ve given the players 24 hours since the Thurrock match before assessing them and it will be Monday before I know what team I’ll be picking. There are players who I want to give minutes on the pitch but I don’t want to weaken the team too much as we aim to win this competition again.”
