MANAGER John Barnes says he has “full faith” in the youngsters who can expect to play a big part in Tranmere’s season.

Rovers’ longstanding reputation for producing homegrown players of first-team quality is sure to be tested over the course of the forthcoming League One campaign.

Barnes is currently working with a squad of just over a dozen professionals. Six of them are teenagers: first-year pros Josh Macauley, Ryan Fraughan and Ash Taylor, second year professionals Terry Gornell and Aaron Cresswell together with Craig Curran, a “veteran” of more than 60 appearances as he approaches his 20th birthday next month.

Barnes says he hopes to add “one or two” further permanent signings to the squad and will be making the numbers up with players recruited on loan.

That formula is sure to leave opportunities for young players keen to show they can rise to the challenge of playing first-team football.

Barnes said: “The youngsters have integrated well in training and I have full faith in them. If you can tell them what you want from them, they will perform.

“If I have to go into games with three or four youngsters in the side, I will have no worries about them. Physically they are in good condition. They are willing to learn and they want to listen to what I tell them.

“The problem with a lot of youngsters is they have not got the experience. The boys here have good quality and attitude. If we work altogether and we have the right discipline and desire, they have the ability to do the job.”

Both left back Cresswell and striker Gornell coped well with the demands of senior football as first-year professionals last season, each making around a dozen first-team appearances. Gornell also played a similar number of first-team games on a loan spell with League Two club Accrington Stanley.

Barnes says he hopes to tie up a deal soon with John Welsh, a former Liverpool midfielder who was released by Hull City at the end of last season. The 25-year-old has been training with Tranmere for more than a week.

But after recruiting the experienced Ian Moore and Alan Mahon on two and three-year contract respectively, Barnes warns he has limited room for spending on further signings because of tight budget constraints.

Barnes said: “We pushed the boat out to sign Alan Mahon and we won’t be able to do that again. We will be very lucky if we can bring more players of his calibre into the club from a financial point of view.

“I would like to sign more players of his quality but get them cheaper, which is unlikely.

“John Welsh is training with us we are trying to tie that deal up. Then we are looking at some loan signings. We have to look at loans because financially we can’t afford to do otherwise.”

Barnes added: “Right now I’m happy with the quality of the players we have but we need more numbers. And we need a goalkeeper.

“People say we have lost the spine of last season’s team and that is a challenge. But I don’t see problems, I see solutions. There are opportunities here for players to come in and show what they can do.

“I believe in the squad here. I will give them full support. I will encourage them. I have no fears about the quality we will produce.”

Meanwhile, Tranmere’s League One fixture against Stockport County at Prenton Park, scheduled for Saturday, October 10, has been put back to the evening of Monday, October 12, for live broadcast on satellite TV.