Ilford boss moves for Nigerian youth international

ILFORD manager Colin Walton has added three new faces to his squad as they continue to battle against relegation from the Ryman North First Division.

Former Nigerian under-23 international AJ Olatunbosun comes in to shore up the Foxes defence and is joined by Laurie Walters from Walton Casuals and Nathan Gordon from Tilbury.

All three are expected to make his debut in Saturday’s trip to fourth placed Maldon & Tiptree and Walton is confident the trio will get off to a winning start.

“They play very open, so I will be very disappointed if we can’t score against them,” he said.

“I fancy our chances against Maldon, I think anyone would. They are doing well, but have conceded 50 goals this season.”

Ilford were held to a 1-1 draw in a friendly with Barking on Saturday, which saw Olatunbosun get some much-needed playing time ahead of the crucial run-in.

With 14 games remaining and Ilford desperate for points, Walton hopes his new signings can make the difference and help secure the points to avoid the drop.

“The friendly was mostly for one or two of the fringe players, but it allowed us to give AJ some match practice and he stood out,” said Walton.

“He trained with Nigeria before the World Cup, he’s an excellent defender.

“Our biggest problem has been scoring goals this season, but Nathan’s a good striker.”