ALTRINCHAM player-boss Mark Ward has saluted the young guns who have fired the Robins up among the early UniBond premier division pacesetters.

Striker Otis Thomas, 17, became the latest youngster to be given his chance at senior level when the Moss Lane chief introduced him as a second-half substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 UniBond Cheshire Senior Cup defeat at Northwich.

Thomas joins four other teenagers Steve Porter, Adam Farley, Michael Garrity and Ian Craney - in what Ward dubs his senior "shop window,"

Add the fact that seven other members of Ward's squad - Barry Crowe, Stuart Scheuber, Steve Hawse, Mark Quayle, Kevin Ellison, Eddie Turkington and Carl Furlong -are in their early 20s and it's little wonder the one-time Manchester City star is boasting that, if Alty do go up, they'll return to the Nationwide Conference as a team with more than just the non-League world at their feet.

Said Ward: "I want any player I bring in to be for next season as well as this and for us now to have a dozen of our senior squad aged 23 ox under is exciting.

"You-only have to look at Manchester United to see what can be achieved with young players, providing, of course, they have ability, the right attitude and have been properly coached."

Ward new has his eye on yet another young player, 21-year-old Jamaican international striker Jeff Cunningham, who's regarded as one of the hottest properties in the US Pro Soccer League.

Cunningham stars for Columbia Crew, whose Cheshire-born coach, Nick Ross, has recommended him to Ward.

Meanwhile, Ward was fighting this week to hang on to another of his young front men, ex-Liverpool starlet Quayle, who has spent most of his first month at Moss Lane sidelined with injury.

CASH-HAPPY Boston have sparked a £100,000 tussle over Scarborough defender Paul Elender

The Lincolnshire side tabled a club record-busting offer of £80,000, plus another £20,000 depending on appearances. Scarborough last night rejected the offer, but with other dubs likely to join the chase, their cash problems could bring a change of heart

Boston's bid followed a £65,000 offer by Doncaster for the former Altrincham player - and came on the same day that the FA lifted a transfer embargo on the Seadogs.

Manager Steve Evans, who wants Ellender to fill the gap left by former skipper David Rennie, said: "We are prepared to put cash on the table."

Scarborough's new chief executive Keith Agar said: "The boy is worth a lot more than £100,000."

Doncaster could be forced to look elswhere - and former Rennes and Preston midfielder Farad Dial, 29, had a runout last week and wil have talks about a possible move with manager Steve Wignall

ARJ's note – if the transfer goes through I wonder if Altrincham will see any thing of the £25,000 Scarborough still owes for the remainder of the transfer fee of Ellender to Scarborough? I doubt it and if not it makes nonsense of the transfer system!

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YOU don't have to be a genius to work out the game everyone at Seel Park is talking about at the moment.

But, while I'm looking forward to our FA Cup-tie at Altrincham next Saturday every bit as much as my players and our supporters, I have to confess that, for me, it's a something of a distraction.

I know it's a cliche, but we're never going to win the FA Cup, and so the outcome of our home league game against Curzon Ashton on Tuesday is of far greater consequence.

Having said that, it's good for us to have the chance to test ourselves against quality opposition such as Altrincham and, while they represent a massive step-up in standard from the teams we're used to facing, I'm confident we'll cope.

Everyone outside of Mossley is expecting us to get a good hiding, but we'll be giving it our best shot and I feel we can give them, a game.

Realistically, we'll have to be at our very best and they some way short of theirs if we're to get any sort of a result, but stranger things have happened.

I've had Altrincham watched and I know they paid us the compliment of having someone check us out when we beat Hebburn last weekend.

Mark Ward's 'spy' can't have been very impressed, because we weren't too good in spite of the result.

But if anyone from Altrincham was at our ground to see us knock Prescot off the top of the table on Tuesday, they might have gone home feeling a little differently.

We were outstanding in the first-half and, having ' clocked up our sixth successive league victory on the night to leave ourselves just a point behind new leaders Clitheroe going into yesterday's game at Newcastle, our form could hardly be much better. '

Considering the turn-round of players here over the summer, I've got ' to be delighted with our

start. I

And, while it's still early days yet, I really do think that, if we can keep everyone together, avoid too many injuries and suspensions and get that., little rub of the green, we're more than capable of striking out for promotion this season.

It's always going to be difficult when there's only one place up for grabs, but, unlike last season, when Vauxhall cruised to the title, I feel there's no outstanding favourite this time and that this could be our chance.

Clitheroe might pose perhaps the biggest threat, but Salford are now starting to emerge after a poor start, while the likes of St Helens and possibly Fleetwood could be dark horses. "

But we're desperate to be crowned champions after finishing second and fourth in the past two seasons.

Our chairman, Sam Rigby, and his family deserve great credit for all their efforts behind the scenes, while, in Phil Beckwith, we also have a commercial manager who works tirelessly.

I, too, have a strong management team in Danny Keogh and David Wynn.

If we could somehow get a result at Ally, that would really make people sit up and take notice.

ALTRINCHAM boss Mark Ward is considering a tempting offer to sign one of the hottest properties in the US Soccer League, writes TONY GLENNON.

The Robins have been given first refusal on Jeff Cunningham, a 21-year-old striker already capped twice by Jamaica.

Cunningham plays for American pro club Columbia Crew, whose Cheshire-born coach, Nick Ross, is keen for him to continue his soccer education in England.

Ross has sent Ward a video of Cunningham in action and the Ally manager has vowed to try to find a way to bring the pacy goalscorer to Moss Lane.

SOME people might think it a daring question to ask a football manager but I thought what the heck?

He seems a reasonable sort of bloke and a quick scan around his pokey office reveals there's nothing he can throw at me.

What does he say to people who think managing a non league team is a soft option?

Mark Ward, the newly installed boss of Altrincham FC, dismisses this as nonsense.

"You've got to start somewhere. Very few managers, even the top managers who have gone on to manage England start off at a big, Premier league club", he says, in broad, Liverpudlian tones.

When it comes to management, Wardy prefers Howard's way, citing Mr Kendall, the former Everton boss as one of his heroes.

The diminutive 37 year old would love to manage the Toffees one day, but for the forseeable future he'll be working flat out to help Altrincham return to the Vauxhall Conference.

He's already tasted success when he was supremo at Birmingham City, leading them to the Second Division title when he was player coach.

Before coming to Moss Lane he had the assistant's job at Leigh RMI and he achieved with them what he hopes to achieve with his new employers.

One thing which strikes you about Mark is that, for a Scouser, he's deadly serious.

The humour for which his home city is world famous remains hidden.

He brings to Moss Lane an impressive CV which saw him play 'the beautiful game' at the highest level for Everton, West Ham and Manchester City.

Coming to Moss Lane must be like returning to his roots for Mark, who joined Northwich Victoria after serving a two year apprenticeship with Everton, the side he'd supported since boyhood.

His career took an upturn when he joined Oldham Athletic for £9,500, a paltry sum when you consider today's astronomical transfer fees.

The first thing you notice about him is his slight stature, which makes you wonder how he managed to mix it with the meathead defenders of the Premiership. Was being small an advantage or a disadvantage in his playing career?

"I had to adapt the game to suit me. Its no good putting the ball up in the air to me. I did work on my game and my fitness. I'm naturally strong - I think I got that from my father. It has its advantages as well because having a low centre of gravity means I can turn quickly. Foot ballers come in all shapes and sizes", he says.

As a player, he thinks he played his best football with the Hammers, when he shared a dressing room with the likes of Frank McAvennie and Tony Cottee.

According to Mark, the key to a successful management career is the ability to combine footballing knowledge with man management skills. As the Robins player boss, he hopes his charges will be able to learn from somebody who has played the game at the highest level.

He's obviously soccer mad and can recall kicking a ball around the streets of Liverpool as a youngster. His step son Carl, now 12, is already showing promise on the pitch. Ironically, Mark was the same age when he first started to attract admirers.

One of his favourite games is golf but are there any sports which leave him cold?

"I'm not a great lover of cricket because its too slow. I don't mind watching it near the end of a game when its exciting. If I was ever playing I wanted to bat or bowl. I didn't want to just stand in a field, doing nothing", says Mark.

His partner is Michelle and she has a daughter called Dina. Mark also has a 17 year old daughter from his first marriage.

ALTRINCHAM may have recently accumulated eleven bookings in two matches, but it is not an aspect of their game manager Mark Ward is concerned about.

Matches against Colwyn Bay and Worksop Town yielded almost a dozen yellow cards, but Ward maintains he has no problems with his side's discipline.

"It's the refereeing I'm worried about, more than the team," Ward told SAM Sport earlier this week.

"At the end of the day, if our players are not getting the protection they need from the officials, they have got to look after themselves."

Ward was in cheerful spirits after he watched his side take three points off Worksop Town, in a physical encounter at Babbage Way.

"I could not have asked for any more from the lads really. To win this championship we are going to have to go to sides like Worksop and get results.

"It's difficult to fight back from a goal down away from home at the best of times, but we were a young side playing against the league leaders. Our side had an average age of 22.

"We've had a lot of strikers out through injury, and still managed to score eighteen goals. Hopefully, when they all have a clean bill of health, we'll be able to score even more, and turn draws into wins."

Looking to the future, Ward expressed his desire to have a good run in the cup competitions, alongside his push for promotion back to the Nationwide Conference.

"As far as I am concerned," he said, "the FA cup is a historic competition which will have pride of place for us, and I will be hoping for as good a run as possible."

• Striker Mark Quayle is still two weeks from full fitness after picking up a hamstring injury and Eddie Turkington is also a fortnight away from first-team selection. Ward was optimistic of having Leroy Chambers back in the side for Tuesday night's match against Northwich Victoria in the Cheshire Senior Cup.

Meanwhile, Gainsborough Trinity remain the most likely destination for transfer-listed Shaun Goodwin.

ALTRINCHAM boss Mark Ward has issued a "keep me out" challenge to his young guns after they knocked Worksop off the top of the UniBond Premier Division, writes TONY GLENNON.

Player-manager Ward limped off after 20 minutes with a knee injury which will sideline him for Alty's UniBond Cheshire Senior Cup clash at Northwich tomorrow.

And, after seeing his youthful side pull off a gutsy 2-1 comeback victory which leaves them just a point behind new leaders Emley, Ward now wants them to keep him out of the side.

The Robins chief, whose replacement, 18-year-old Ian Craney, did a man-sized job in helping to keep Worksop's former England star Chris Waddle quiet, said: "I'd love the lads to keep me out of the side when I'm okay again."

Second-half strikes by Carl Furlong and Kevin Ellison secured Alty's win.

Mossley booked a dream FA Cup second-qualifying round trip to Altrincham in a fortnight as they survived the sending-off off former Stalybridge star Gary Thomas to beat Hebburn 2-0 at Seel Park.

ALTRINCHAM manager Mark Ward has insisted that the search for quality players never ends.

Speaking to Sam sport earlier this week he said, "I'm hoping to bring more players to the club as we try to dominate this league." He revealed that he hopes to sign former West Brom midfielder Michael Garrity and experience left-back Steve Morgan.

Meanwhile, Ward expressed how disappointed he was at the negative way Emley played on Saturday.

"I'm not a good loser at the best of times, but when you lose against a side that played football against you, then you don't mind.

"At one point, there was around 19 players in their box. I told our lads not to give away silly free-kicks but we did and they scored."

Ward refuses to change the way his side plays in order the overcome this sort of play, which he anticipates will be prevalent at Moss Lane.

"I'm sure we will see plenty of that at Moss Lane this season, but we have to overcome it in order to progress back to the Conference "

ALTRINCHAM boss Mark Ward is planning a double signing swoop as he seeks to counter an injury crisis which threatens to undermine the Robins' solid start.

The Moss Lane chief, whose side are riding high in the UniBond premier division with 10 points from their first five games, is lining up moves for vastly-experienced ex-Coventry and Hull left-back Steve Morgan, 31, and Michael Garrity, a strapping 19-year-old former West Brom midfield starlet.

Neither will come into contention for Alty's home clash with Emley tomorrow as Ward wants to watch them in reserve-team action before deciding whether to sign them.

But, with Danny Adams now departed, Leroy Chambers, Mark Quayle and Eddie Turkington all currently sidelined, and Carl Furlong still to kick a ball in anger, Ward doesn't intend to delay attempting to reinforce his wafer-thin squad.

The Alty player-manager said: "We're down to the bare bones at the moment. Steve Morgan has a good pedigree and Michael Garrity, too, comes highly recommended. But I won't sign anyone until I've seen them play first."

ALTRINCHAM manager Mark Ward revealed this week the effort he made to keep Danny Adams at Moss Lane.

The dependable stopper signed for Macclesfield Town last week for £25,000 - realising a long-standing ambition to return to league football after three years in the Moss Lane left-back berth.

Speaking to SAM sport earlier this week, Ward said, "I did not want to lose Danny, and to illustrate how highly I rated him, I offered to match the terms that Macclesfield had offered him.

"However, he has always wanted to play in the league again and we just cannot compete with the full-time training that Macclesfield can provide."

Ward added, "I feel that Mace have struck a real bargain, especially in this day and age with the way even non-league transfer fees are going."

Meanwhile, Ward was counting the cost of a bruising opening month to the league programme with no less than five first team players out of action. Carl Furlong is yet to start for the club, and Leroy Chambers is still one week from recovery.

Also, immediately recovering from a serious head injury, Mark Quayle is out with a hamstring problem.

Ankle-injury victim Shaun Goodwin has been placed on the transfer list at his own request, with Gainsborough Trinity the most interested party.

These injuries have forced Ward's hand into drafting in some younger players for the trip to Marine on Tuesday and the visit of Emley this Saturday.

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A report in the Independent of 31 August said that the Crystal Palace manager, Alan Smith, is ready to sign Stuart Coburn. Apparently Stuart is highly rated and joined Palace for training and is expected to complete a £100,000 deal this week but this is not so.

DANNY Adams finally arrived at Macclesfield this week - four years late!

The 24-year-old former Bury left-back returned to league soccer in a deal worth a potential £25,000 to Altrincham where he lives. Adams joined Congleton when he was released from Gigg Lane but Sammy Mcllroy, then the Macc boss, wanted him.

Says Adams: "Sammy wanted to sign me then and Macc would have got me for nothing. But there was a problem with Congleton releasing me and the move fell through. I was very disappointed. I was desperate to get back into league soccer after being at Bury."

Adams moved up to the next best thing by joining Altrincham and helping them Into the Conference - from where they were relegated back to the UniBond League last season.

He caught the eye of Macc boss Peter Davenport in pre-season friendlies but, even then, a move looked doubtful because the clubs couldn't agree a deal.

He added: "It had been dragging on for too long before it was settled this week. I was really worried that it wouldn't work out."

Adams was even dropped by new Altrincham boss Mark Ward, who claimed he wasn't in the right frame of mind to play.

The other big plus of the move for Adams is that he has been able to give up his job as a postman - and having to get up at 4.30 in the morning. He said: "That was tough, especially on a match day, because I was working six days a week.

"It meant that when Altrincham were in the Conference I'd do my round for 9am and then have to get on the team coach to somewhere like Welling. Now I can enjoy full-time training - but I guess it will take a few weeks to get match fit for league soccer."