Peter Ridsdale on PNE's squad average age

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00:00As for the summer, obviously you'll of course be looking to bring in quality.

00:04Is there a focus on targeting younger players and bringing the average age of the squad down?

00:09I think it's something the manager's spoken about a little bit in terms of developing assets.

00:14And obviously you had a really good period doing that when Alex Neil was at the club.

00:18Is that something you're all kind of striving for?

00:19Is it easier said than done?

00:22Well, it's obviously easier said than done because if they're under 25,

00:27you've got training compensation, even if they're out of contract.

00:30If they're very good players, even in League 1 and 2 now,

00:34we're being quoted big seven-figure fees for players who are unproven at this level.

00:40But also if you get more experienced players or older, you've no asset.

00:46So it's a balancing factor, but you try and balance it across the squad as a whole.

00:50So what you say is, what does the squad need?

00:52If you've just got 24 under-20s, they may not be as good as a balanced squad.

00:58But if you look at who we've brought in,

01:01we haven't been bringing in 29 and 30-year-olds over the last couple of years.

01:05We've been bringing in people to bring the average age down.

01:08So, you know, if you look at Lewis Gibson's 25,

01:11recognising some of the rest of the defence is getting older.

01:15You know, we've got a situation where we've brought Maz in, we've brought Stefan in.

01:20They're younger players than perhaps the ones who are currently in those positions today.

01:25So do we want to bring the average age down? Absolutely.

01:28But what we also have to recognise is we want to compete.

01:31So it's a balance all the time.