Baldock Town manager Dave McAdam says the proof their youth policy is working is encapsulated in the rise of Lewis Franklin.

The full-back made the move from the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division side to Southern League Welwyn Garden City last season and those months at the higher level have obviously helped push his progression forward, as he shone in WGC's 6-1 pre-season victory over the Reds, scoring the fifth goal.

And McAdam is delighted to see his young protegee fulfilling his undoubted potential.

The boss said: "Lewis looked like a man [out there], the way he conducted himself and the way he played as well.

"He’s learned a few little dark arts and you have to learn those because they buy you the little edges to get you past your man or that extra half a second to get back in.

"We’ll continue to bring the youth through. We’re not saying we’re going to win the league, it is all about sustainability in the club and our youth is the biggest structure we have.

"Getting them senior minutes, bringing them on and seeing them flourish is important but you will never be disappointed seeing lads progress."

Baldock's only goal at Herns Lane came in the second period from a trialist but they found their step four hosts in a ruthless mood.

McAdam said: "It was 90 minutes in the players leg but the difference in level told at times.

"We’re trying to play football but some players got in awe and fell into little traps when they didn’t need to.

"We did play some good football in stages but a lot of individual errors led to goals at disappointing stages of the game.

"But if you take away the errors, it wasn’t that bad in the first half."

McAdam took charge of the team in December and helped guide them clear of relegation late on to finish 17th.

And despite the fact that there has been an increase of money in the division, he is still looking forward to the new campaign.

He said: "We’ve got lads who are young but some experienced heads as well.

"We’re trying to get a few more over the line and committed but trying to sign players in non-league without a huge budget is difficult.

"There is a lot of money being thrown about at our level at the moment and it is hard when you see players signing elsewhere but you know what they have gone there for, you think ‘wow, that’s big dough’.

"But we’ll wipe our mouths, move on and look forward to the season."