Recently appointed England National Game XI boss Paul Fairclough may have experienced a losing start to his England managerial career last month in Belgium. However, there were numerous positives to be taken from a battling 3- 1 defeat against the Belgium U20 side preparing for the recently postponed World Youth Championships.

Considering his squad entirely comprised players from the Ryman, Dr Martens and UniBond Premier Leagues, it was as Paul described, an 'heroic' effort.

For next Tuesday's open-age international in Beek en Donk, home to BV Sparta 25, Fairclough has retained just John Kennedy from Canvey Island in his 16-man squad, with goalscorer Roscoe D'Sane and Anthony Riverre of Welling United on standby. Talking about his selection he said:

"With five midweek Conference fixtures, The FA and myself have been sensitive to those clubs needs, and therefore I have not selected players from clubs such as Doncaster Rovers, Burton and Southport, etc.

"However, with the strength in depth that the Football Conference has this year, I could have picked four squads, all of equal quality, and so I am expecting those selected to put in a strong performance next week."

Recent games against the Dutch have been tight affairs, with an 83rd minute goal from Burton's Dale Anderson taking the 3 Lions to a narrow victory at Yeovil Town's Huish Park last season.

The current Conference leaders supply three players to the squad, as do play-off contenders Morecambe and Chester City. On the new players to come into the England set-up for the first time, Paul said:

"Chris Weale has had two strong seasons in the Conference in goal for Yeovil, and although Wayne Brown has consistently represented England at this level, this will be great experience for Chris.

"Likewise in defence, Danny Collins at Chester City has done exceptionally well, keeping more experienced players out of the first team, and after speaking to Mark Wright we agreed that the trip would also add to Danny's learning curve."

Stewart Drummond and Darren Way will look to compete for the central midfield berths with Northwich Victoria's Richard Norris, a player that to some could be a surprise inclusion. "Richard is a player that I have watched develop over the last three years", said Paul, "and I am really keen to work with him. He is a good passer of the ball in the middle of the park and has some quality forwards to work with on our trip."

One of those forwards is fellow 'Vic' Gregg Blundell, who with nineteen goals is only second in the Conference goalscoring charts to Paul Barnes.

Another striker who has been in top-form all season for a mid-table side is Barnet's Junior Agogo and they are joined by Junior McDougald who has played his part in Dagenham & Redbridge's record-breaking unbeaten run; in fact the three strikers can boast 48 league goals between them, with Morecambe's left-sided midfielder Lee Elam having also chipped in with 11 league goals. 

Looking ahead to Tuesday, and then to the Four Nations Tournament in May, Paul said:

"The last two months of the season will be incredibly competitive across the four senior leagues, and as well as the battles for promotion and relegation, the players also know that they have the Four Nations Tournament to aim for as well, with the first game kicking off on May 20th.

"After the heroic performance that the side put in against Belgium, the Conference players know that they have to be on their toes and not take anything for granted if they want to represent their country in Wales."

Tuesday night's game kicks off at 7.30pm at the Sportpark 't Heereind, home to BV Sparta 25, Beek en Donk, near Eindhoven. The ground is approximately 15 minutes from Eindhoven Airport.

A full report will be available on www.TheFA.com  the following day.

England Squad:

Wayne Brown (Chester City), Chris Weale (Yeovil Town), John Kennedy (Canvey Island), Terry Skiverton (Yeovil Town), Scott Guyett (Chester City), Danny Collins (Chester City), Michael Rose (Hereford United), Mark Janney (Dagenham & Redbridge), Darren Way (Yeovil Town), Richard Norris (Northwich Victoria), Stewart Drummond (Morecambe), Lee Elam (Morecambe), Adriano Rigoglioso (Morecambe), Junior Agogo (Barnet), Junior McDougald (Dagenham & Redbridge), Gregg Blundell (Northwich Victoria)