BRAINTREE Town manager Brad Quinton is pleased to see Matt Baxter blazing a trail for young players bidding to come through the Iron’s junior ranks and establish themselves in the senior side.

The young striker has become a key part of Braintree Town Reserves’ success this year in Thurlow Nunn League division one and stepped off the bench towards the end of the first team’s Vanarama National League South win against Bognor Regis Town to make his senior debut on Saturday.

It wasn’t just a cameo appearance either as Baxter delivered a nice through ball to Marcel Barrington as he added the third of Braintree’s three goals and first-team boss Quinton is delighted to see a young player flourishing.

“I was pleased to see Matty come on and he did well,” said the Iron boss.

“He fed the ball through to Marcel (Barrington) for his goal.

“He has a talent; he really has.

“There is a lot to come from Matty and he’s one that I’ve kept in the group.

“I have a lot of time for the boy.

“He has an over-eagerness to watch the ball a bit too much and that’s his downfall at the moment as it finds him get out of position, but that’s something I can work on and he’s going to be one of our players who comes through.

“I have kept him training with us and he’s getting good feedback with the reserves.

“His attitude is right and he wants to be a part of it.”

Quinton is keen that Baxter’s success can be replicated throughout other parts of the club’s structure as well and wants to encourage an internal progression of talented youngsters from the reserves and also Mark Sansom’s Braintree Town Academy.

Quinton added: “From the Academy and the Reserves, it’s not about whether they win leagues or cups, I just want them to be playing the same type of football with the same tempo as we are (in the first team) to give me the opportunity to bring these boys in.

“I’m all for young players to be coming through and they have to show me that they want to work hard for me and the team.

“It’s a learning curve.

“Matt (Baxter) needs to find his voice a little bit, but I have noticed in the last little while that he has been giving the senior boys a little bit of a call out.

“There have been some words back, but I like that.

“He may not think I’ve seen it, but I have.”