KIDDERMINSTER Harriers manager Mark Yates is backing his young guns to succeed in the Blue Square Premier this season.

The Aggborough side will boast a youthful squad, containing the likes of Darryl Knights, Martin Riley and Lee Baker.

Yates is hoping his squad's young guns, allied to the experience of John Finnigan, 33, Dean Bennett, 31, and Chris McPhee, 26, will prove to be the right mix for a winning formula this season.

“We’ve got a lot of youngsters, that goes without saying but they’re good ones, they can all play.

“I think Darryl Knights has had a superb pre-season and hopefully he can carry on.

“We’ve got Matthew Barnes-Homer and other good young players, while Lee Baker is getting better and better.

“We’ll have that youthful energy alongside the likes of Chris McPhee, Dean Bennett and John Finnigan. I think it will be a good mix.”

In a busy summer, fans saw Mark Creighton and Russ Penn sold to Oxford United and Burton Albion respectively for undisclosed fees.

Star performers from last season Keith Lowe and Adam Bartlett joined Hereford, while joint top-scorer Justin Richards signed for Cheltenhan Town.

However, Harriers have managed to secure Martin Riley, Matthew Barnes-Homer and Brian Smikle, and Chris McPhee, who all impressed last season.

Yates has scoured non-league for gems and given one-year contracts to Stourbridge winger Kyle Hadley and Sutton Coldfield striker Aaron Farrell.

Yates said: “For one reason or another a lot of decent players have left the club but we’ve also managed to keep a good core together.

“The likes of Martin Riley, Chris McPhee and Matthew Barnes-Homer have been massive captures for us.

“Coupled with the like of Darryl Knights, Lee Baker and David McDermott we know we’ll be alright.”

Despite tight financial restrictions and the collapse of Setanta Sports, Yates is confident that when Harriers kick-off the season at home to newly promoted Hayes and Yeading on Saturday, they can match the previous campaign’s heights.

The Aggborough outfit only missed out on a place in the promotion play-offs last season after a 1-0 loss to Kettering on the season’s final day.

“After the last game of the season, when we were told what would be happening that was a disappointment, but the realisation is that we’ll be competitive and try and set our sights high this season.

“We want to be better than last season. We’re aiming for a good season and what we define as good remains to be seen. I don’t care if nobody gives us a mention, we know that with a lot of hard work we’ll be fine.”