Burgess Hill Town boss: Youngsters will play without fear and give us a lift

The new Hillians boss – who took over when Dean Cox quit as manager a month ago – is determined to give first-team chances to many of the club’s promising young players.

He knows all about them and their abilities from having managed the Hill U18 team and says the fact they’re used to winning matches can only serve the senior side well.

If Hill’s past two results are anything to go by, they are on the right track.

After the Boxing Day blip at home to Lancing, who beat them 4-2, the Hillians won 2-1 at home to Herne Bay on Saturday then notched an impressive 3-2 win at high-flying Three Bridges on Monday.

Marcel Powell and Joe Overy – one of four 17-year-olds who started – got the goals that saw off Herne Bay while Martyn Box, Dan Perry and Darren Budd found the net – all in the final 15 minutes – to secure the win at Bridges.

Mansell is delighted with progress and confident about what the squad can achieve, but is anxious not to run before he can walk.

He told the Middy: “In the past four games, we’ve only had one bad half, which cost us against Lancing. Against Sevenoaks and now Herne Bay and Three Bridges we’ve played really well and got rewards.

"The introduction of the youngsters is paying off. They are very talented and I know they can play at this level.

"What they bring to the team is the mentality of knowing how to win games and playing without fear. When you have energetic players playing in a positive mindset, it spreads. Of course we need more experienced heads too, though it’s worth nothing that even Martyn Box, one of our more experienced players, is still only 21.”

Mansell felt Hill deserved both wins over the new year weekend and said he hoped the momentum would carry into the next game – a 12th v 13th tussle at home to East Grinstead on Saturday.

But he added: “It’s a cliché but we’re just looking one game at a time and seeing where that takes.

"The club have ambitions of moving up through the leagues but it’s very early days for us.”