Pearce and Blake may have unearthed gems at trials day
Rocks manager Jack Pearce and coach Robbie Blake hope they have unearthed a couple of gems after being impressed by a crop of players at the club’s open trials session. The Bognor bosses were able run the rule over trialists bidding to earn a place in the Nyewood Lane squad ahead of the new Isthmian Premier division campaign. Attendees came under the watchful eye of Pearce and Blake as they were put through their paces before taking part in a match in sweltering heat on Saturday at Arun Leisure Centre. The hopefuls, who travelled from near and wide, ranged from established players looking to earn a deal to teenagers keen to take the next step in their careers. Bognor have started preseason training already and those selected from the trials match will be invited to participate to see if they can be considered to figure in the upcoming pre-season friendly matches, the first of which kicks off on July 9 when the Rocks host Havant & Waterlooville. Next up after the visit of the Hawks comes a home game against Pompey on July 16. Pearce said: “The lads did ever so well in extremely hot conditions and we sincerely thank each and every one of them for attending and giving there all. “A trials match is never ideal to demonstrate a player’s capabilities because of a number of factors, including having to adapt to positions for the purposes of balance, perhaps a certain lack of cohesion from not knowing your team-mates and maybe even some nerves creeping in. “But overall there was lots to like and we saw a few players who we will to speak to about taking things forward and take it from there. “Overall, it has proved to be a productive exercise and one which we would look at repeating next summer.”