Chester FC boss Jon McCarthy says there is a pathway to success with the Blues for young players and believes that a number of the heroes of last night's FA Youth Cup win over Bolton Wanderers could have a future in the game.
Chester under-18s claimed a shock 2-0 win over Wanderers at the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium to book their place in round three of the competition.
Given little hope of earning victory over the Trotters, who play their football in the second tier of the Professional U18 Development League, Calum McIntyre's young Blues triumphed in front of 580 fans thanks to goals from Nathan Brown and Connor Rowbottom.
And with local players such as Blacon's Tom Crawford starring, McCarthy believes that more could follow the path to the first team trodden by the likes of Sam Hughes, Matty Waters and Kieran Evans.
Said the Blues boss: "I am so pleased for them. So pleased for Calum (McIntyre) and Ian Swettenham (youth sponsor) who has backed it.
"The shape, discipline and structure of the team was outstanding. Those players are in with our (first-team) players and they see those standards.
"I speak to them after training and tell them to take that back to the academy. They put on a performance last night that was the best that I have ever seen from one of our young teams and we are delighted with what they have achieved.
"There is a progression. There is a real thought behind the scenes as to the long term future of the club. And that is not to be critical of anything that has gone before, what has been achieved before to get this football club to where it is, I recognise that and what every volunteer did for this club.
"It is a really great thing that we have at this football club. It is a route and we know that we can take on some of those players. People aren't yet seeing Kieran Evans and Matty Waters but they will soon. If people can remember back to Sam Hughes early on, there is a plan to it. They come in for a few games, do a bit in pre-season then get your head down, then maybe they figure. Then the next season, hopefully, we can put another two out there with Sam Hughes.
"Then who's next? Nathan Brown? Tom Crawford? James Hodges? You never know. I suppose the dream is to have a team full of lads from Blacon and the Lache. There is a real opportunity for that to happen here."
After the final whistle the young Blues, many of whom have trained with the first-team squad this season, were congratulated by their senior counterparts with the likes of Hughes, Ryan Astles, James Alabi and Kane Richards all on hand to join in the celebrations, something which delighted McCarthy.
"We see a lot of those players now," he said.
"There were seven or eight of our first team there last night and there were seven or eight of our first team in the changing room with them at the end. It wasn't something that was compulsory and I didn't expect them there but they were just here with that massive crowd and they just headed to the changing room. It's because we are so used to having them with us now."
