Call for Stott!

JAMIE Stott (left), in action for Curzon Ashton in this season's FA Cup, has been recalled by Athletic after impressing on the non-league scene

ATHLETIC are recalling teenage defender Jamie Stott from Curzon Ashton to help solve their left-sided problems in defence.

The 19-year-old defender has performed well for the Vanarama National League North side while on loan this season, scoring twice in 31 appearances and helping keep four straight clean sheets after arriving last September.

Stott's loan was extended during the transfer window for the whole of the season. But with Rob Hunt having his season ended early due to groin surgery being required and Charles Dunne not set to recover from his pelvic problem in time to feature, impressed manager John Sheridan has opted to call Stott back to the club.

"I have watched him at Curzon and he has done well there," said Sheridan, of a defender who hails from Failsworth and who has been with Athletic since the age of nine.

"He is left-footed and I like him, so we are sorting out the paperwork on that.

"He has done well and I like him as a lad. He works really hard and has a good mentality. He wants to play games and Curzon are a good side.

"He is playing week-in, week-out. I want him involved in and around the first team for the last couple of games."

DEBUT

It is almost exactly 12 months on since Sheridan handed fellow youngster George Edmundson his full league debut in a crucial game at Southend, which Athletic won 1-0 to move six points clear of the bottom-four with only three games left to play.

The paperwork is being completed with a view to involving Stott in the squad for Fleetwood tomorrow and he could provide a very useful option as a left-footed centre-back, should Athletic go with a three-man defence.

For Sheridan, handing young players chances around the first team can only be beneficial in terms of fast-tracking development.

"I have had young players training with the first team this week and I like that," he added. "You get a lot from having better players around you, whispering things to you on the pitch.

'LEARN'
"For me, that's how you learn the game. As a kid, training with the first team, you feel a million dollars.

"Plus, it gets that nervousness out of you. Do good things and you get confidence and you also have to stand up for yourself a bit more."