ILMINSTER Youth Under-13s started the season poorly - winning only three of their first ten league and cup games.

But manager Craig McGown said the players continued to work hard in training and on the pitch and did not allow their heads to drop.

"This work eventually paid off as we went on a five-game winning run which saw us start to creep up the league finally finishing in fourth place," he said.

"The players need to take a lot of positives out of the run-in we had as we beat the top of the league 2-1 and narrowly lost 4-3 to second place in a game we totally dominated but could not find the net.

"I think if we can get a more settled side and a better start than we had this season we should have a realistic push for promotion next season."

Craig said he would like to thank Mel Faulkner, Terry Crocker, Ian Brister and Alison Cox for their help throughout the season.

"I would also like to thank my wife Teresa for putting up with all the moaning I do every week, the committee that do an excellent job and Mynster Pharmacy and John Preddy for their generous kit sponsorship this season," he said.

"But mostly I would like to thank Ian Spooner without who the team would have been a lot worse off due to his tireless work in training and on match days.

"Unfortunately due to family commitments Ian will not be able to help next season, so I would just like to take this opportunity to thank him from me and the team for all his hard work."

Squad: Shane Crocker, Jamie McGown, Stephen Rowlands, Ben Kingman, Rhys Faulkner, Aaron Spooner, Josh Jackson, Ben Norman, Joe Allen, Jordan Brain, George Whitlock, Dan Wright, Matt Belton, Rob Belton, Zak Martin, Luke Mitchell, Jake Power and Charlie Page.

Awards: Boys Under-13s: Most improved player: Jordan Brain; clubman of the year: Ian Spooner; manager’s player: Stephen Rowlands; players’ player: Shane Crocker.