Youngsters Ed Eaton, Macauley Heywood and Elliot Knell were called into action throughout last night’s game as the Telford boss shuffled his pack after a string of injuries.

The result was another encouraging display against the EPL high-fliers, with the Tigers looking to stage a comeback at 2-1 down with five minutes remaining.

A flurry of late goals secured the points for Guildford, but Watkins highlighted the emergence of his younger players over the last few games.

He said: “Some of our guys are going to be put into different holes and positions that they’re not used to, but they all want that chance.

“It is up to them to prove that they deserve to stay there and I expect them to jump up to the mark when they are there.

“I want them to make it really hard for us to move them out of those positions.”

Jaroslav Kruzic was the only scorer for Telford as they continued to rely on a strong defensive line-up to remain within reach of the EPL’s top sides.

“It was a solid performance and I couldn’t feel prouder of the lads,” Watkins added.

“If only we could put the puck in the net more often, we could have turned at least one of the last few games into a win.

“We really deserved something against Guidlford. We played well in the second and third periods, and had them under the cosh at 201 down.

“I was a bit disappointed at how we finished, as it was a bit sloppy, but maybe we were trying too hard on the offence.”

Telford face a double-header of games against Slough Jets this weekend, with a trip to Berkshire on Saturday, before the return fixture on Shropshire on Sunday (5.30pm).