Luton youngster Watkins tipped to shine

The attacking midfielder made his debut for Hatters back in January 2010 and played five times last season, scoring his first goals in the 4-0 FA Trophy win over Uxbridge.

Watkins started the friendly at TNS on Sunday and also played 20 minutes in the 2-1 win over Airbus UK Broughton on Tuesday night, both times turning in impressive displays.

Brabin said: “Adam Watkins has come on leaps and bounds since the back end of last season and has done well in pre-season.

“He has been on the edge of things, but he’s a good player and I think it’s a mixture of him not really being given a chance and not really believing in himself.

“At the same time, it’s hard sometimes to blood youngsters when you want to win matches and have to pick your strongest side.

“Adam been sitting on the edges, but I’ve had a chat with him and I thought he did himself no harm whatsoever in the first 45 minutes on Sunday and looked really lively again on Tuesday.

“At the moment, Adam is certainly in my thoughts, but it’s early days and he’s got to continue that now.”

Another player who has stood out in pre-season is winger Robbie Willmott.

The former Cambridge man once again demonstrated his prowess from dead ball situations, netting a beautiful free-kick in Wales on Tuesday night.

Brabin added: “We’ve got some really good attacking options.

“Robbie has worked really hard in pre-season.

“He’s one of those who is in top form at the moment.

“He played an hour on Sunday and I gave him the second half at Airbus and I thought he was brilliant when he came on.”