Town first team coach Bryan Klug has called for the reform of reserve football in the wake of the Blues' Pontin's Holidays Football Combination League East Division title. The Town second string ran out easy victors of the league, having been ejected from the Premier Reserve League last summer.

Klug said: “It is something the Football Association is going to have to take a serious look at.

“Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has voiced his concern at the difficulties in producing young players in this country, and he is right.”

The coach says that with the reserve sides of Conference teams like Oxford United and Stevenage Borough in the same division, Town's developing youngsters haven't been sufficiently tested this season: “Our players have done well and full marks to them.

“And some of the games have been proper ones. But, to cross that divide between youth and first team football, youngsters need to have regular competitive fixtures."

Premier League clubs excluded all Football League sides from their two reserve divisions last summer, forcing the likes of the Blues back into the Football Combination.

Back in January, chairman David Sheepshanks said that a new Championship reserve league could be in place for 2007/08.

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