Long-term hope for youth

By [csweet]

YEOVIL Town chief executive Martyn Starnes hopes the club's youth system will produce Huish Park's next ten-year servant.

Glovers' manager Terry Skiverton celebrates a decade with the club on Saturday.

He will feature in Yeovil's reunited Nationwide Conference-winning team of 2002-3 as they take on a Terry Skiverton Select XI in his testimonial match.

Starnes said such loyalty is rare in today's game but he would like the club's centre of excellence to produce someone capable of matching Skiverton's achievement.

"It (ten years' service) is a rare occurrence and has been for some while now," said Starnes.

"But one lives in hope that we can bring young players through and that they will see out their career with the club.

"I think it is great when you have a situation like that but you never know when it is going to happen and it just happens over time. It is increasingly rare for sure."

Skiverton passed on the captain's armband in February after accepting the manager role.

Starnes said that the boss has been a constant in Yeovil's recent success, which added to Skiverton's ability to manage Yeovil Town.

Starnes said: "Terry is a very strong-minded, intelligent man. He is a major asset to this football club and is first class in every department.

"He has been the constant and you need that. He does represent a certain amount of stability with his constancy and I think that is important to any club, and is particularly important in our case. Terry has been a magnificent servant to the club and we are delighted that friends and supporters have been able to put together a testimonial for him. I think he thoroughly deserves it."

Skiverton's former team-mate Adam Lockwood will be playing at Huish Park on Saturday and he said he is looking forward to turning out alongside his former house-mate again.

"Terry was good to play alongside and he was a good leader," said Lockwood. "We had a team of leaders, really, which was why we got promoted twice.

"I had the privilege of living with him for a while and the team at the time had good relations off the field. We spent a lot of time together off the field, which does not always happen in football.

"When it does and everything is fine it rubs off on your play. I am looking forward to coming back down as I have a lot of friends in the area.

"You are also busy when you are playing so you do not often get the chance to come see and people really, spending a bit of time with them.

"I think Terry deserves it. I would be disappointed if people do not come along as they will not have seen a lot of the lads come back to the club.

"For them to be reunited will be something you will not see again."