Hythe Town player-boss James Rogers says they have to be careful with their young players during relegation scrap

Manager James Rogers feels for his young players as Hythe battle relegation.

There’s always the argument youngsters play without fear but Rogers isn’t so sure that stacks up in the Cannons’ predicament.

They’re fighting for survival in Isthmian South East and visit Three Bridges this Saturday.

“I think you need experience in these situations,” said player-boss Rogers, whose side were boosted by Riley Alford's last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Whitehawk on Tuesday night.

“You can have kids but it’s asking a lot to play with this amount of pressure week in, week out.

“George Sibley is an example.

“At 17, to be involved in a relegation battle at this stage in his career, it’s a big ask.

“Ideally, you’d put him in for two games and then maybe take him out for one.

“When you’re young, and we’ve all been there, you can lose concentration at times, and you do have to manage young players.

“For someone like Sibs, he’s played a lot of games and to be able to take that forward is going to help his career, but it is tough in a relegation battle.

“We’ve got boys with bags of ability, and I’m sure they’ll push on, but it’s quite a lot of pressure at 17 and we need to be careful with them.”

Rogers, his side beaten 3-0 at leaders Hastings last weekend, is hoping to add a bit more experience but is wary of signing the wrong characters.

“I want players who’ve played at this level but not ones who’ve jumped from team to team,” he said.

“I look at certain players and if they’ve had a different club every two seasons I don’t think that’s too bad, but when it’s three or four clubs a season, I’m not interested.

“There’s a reason why they’ve had that amount of clubs.

"For me personally, I want players who are going to come in, buckle