YATE Town have signed a new striker in former Bristol City trialist Liam Monelle.
And the teenager could be thrust into action straight away when Yate entertain Winchester City in the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South and West at Lodge Road on Saturday.
The Bluebells are looking to bounce back from their 1-0 home defeat on Tuesday to early pacesetters Cinderford Town after an encouraging opening awayday victory at Evesham United.
Monelle, 19, started at Mangotsfield United in the 2012/13 season, playing 15 times and scoring four goals in that debut campaign.
His talent was spotted by scouts from Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and Plymouth Argyle, all of whom thought he had a chance in the professional world. He was given six-months to prove himself at City but eventually found his way back to non-league football with Weston-super-Mare, Paulton Rovers and, latterly, with Vanarama National League South club Bath City this summer.
Yate Town manager Craig Laird thinks he will be a good addition to the squad and, if he can be released in time from Bath, he is likely to find a place somewhere in Saturday’s squad for the game with Winchester, who put an astonishing seven goals past Bridgwater Town last weekend.
Laird said: “Liam will come in on Saturday if Bath do not need him and then he will become our player.
“At the moment, he is with Bath. I spoke to Adie (Britton. Manager) and he may be in their squad for Saturday if they cannot sign anyone before then. But, after that, he will become our player.
“He is a goal-scorer and we need to try and bolster the front line with Darren (Edwards) and Jacko (Jake Jackson) and we need to complement the shape we are playing to allow other players to go and play in some other positions for us.
“He will bring enthusiasm and has good experience, having played at that level. He will help us push on again and we will look at one or two other signings as well but that is what we were always going to do.
“We are trying to work within the remits of the budget that the chairman has given me. I would say within the next ten games, we will try and strengthen the squad.”
Laird is still trying to amalgamate his squad but, after the excellent performance at Evesham, the manager thought the first-half against Cinderford was a real let-down.
He said: “We cannot live off games like Evesham. I said to the players at the end of Tuesday’s game that we cannot live off past glories, we have to look at the next game.
“The next important game to play was on Tuesday and they didn’t focus well enough for me, especially after we warned them in the changing room that they (Cinderford) would be busy and running around.
“They started at a tempo. We didn’t think they could keep that up and we knew that at some time we would work ourselves into the game but we gave ourselves an uphill challenge by conceding a sloppy goal.
“We were not brave enough to get on the ball and, when they had the ball, we gave them too much room and that was the talk of the changing room, that we had to upset them and knock them out of their stride and rhythm. Once we did that, we gained the advantage.
“But it took me to say that at half-time. We tried to do a little bit in the first-half. I cannot thank them enough for the second-half performance and we probably deserved a draw at the end but the first-half was not acceptable.”
Laird admitted it will be equally as difficult against Winchester on Saturday. “It is a tough league. We have a young team here and we are developing and I think by Christmas, we should have it nailed down.
“We are not far away from where we want to be. The supporters pay good money to come and watch and the first-half performance against Cinderford was not good enough for them. They expect the team to give at least a little bit of effort.”