Henry Jones makes fine first impression at Fylde

The former Wales Under-21 international has featured in all three pre-season games for the Coasters since switching from Bangor City.

He was named Man of the Match last time out as Fylde held championship side Bolton Wanderers to a goalless draw.

Jones rifled home a stunning goal on his first appearance in a 5-0 victory over Marine and Challinor expects his new star to make a big impression on the National League.

Challinor said: “Henry has been getting better and better with every game and training session and he has fitted into the group seamlessly.

“Technically he is a very good player. He has scored once already and I’m sure he will score and create a lot goals more when the season gets underway.

“If he can bring his form from last season in the Welsh Premier League and produce that at this level then he has a big future ahead of him.

“Some of the interplay between himself and James (Hardy) on Tuesday night against Bolton was very impressive. With those two on the pitch, if you are a forward making runs then there’s a good chance that they will find you.

“I’m sure they will create an awful lot of goalscoring opportunities for us.

“Henry is in really good shape already and getting those 60 minutes on Tuesday will have done him the world of good.

“He is a massively driven individual, which has been evident from the first moment that we spoke and I’m sure he will do very well here.”

Jones comes in the same mould as fellow midfield starlet James Hardy but Challinor insists that both will have a big role to play this season.

“We managed to fit them both into the same starting line-up earlier in the week so there is no problem with that,” he said.

“Ultimately we have lots of options across the frontline.

“James may not be 100 per cent fit for the start of the season and we still have to be very careful with him.

“They both provide something different to the rest of the midfield and the attack and they will both be very important players for us.”

AFC Blackpool’s first home pre-season friendly is against Northern Premier League side Hyde United tomorrow (3pm). Admission is £3, with no charge for concessions/children. New AFC manager Dave Worthington used to coach at Hyde.