THE promotion of a number of Chester City's youth team players into the senior professional ranks is testimony to the progress that the Deva Stadium club is making at all levels.

Defender Robert Marsh-Evans and strikers Paul Rutherford and Chris Holroyd are part of the City first team squad this season and chairman Stephen Vaughan is naturally proud of the progress the club is making with its impressive youth system.

He said: "When I came to the club five years ago the development of youth players was non-existent. We had lost our School of Excellence certificate and we were a no-go area for youngsters.

"Thanks to the hard work of Jim Hackett and Mark Newman we have rebuilt our youth system from scratch and two years ago we were rewarded by regaining our School of Excellence accreditation.

"We have a clutch of other youngsters who will break through in the next couple of years and it's not an understatement to say that we have one of the best youth systems in the lower divisions and that gives me a great feeling of pride."

Chester's latest acquisition to their youth coaching staff was made last month, when the former Manchester United and Luton Town player Simon Davies joined the club.

Davies was a member of the Manchester United FA Youth Cup-winning side in 1992, playing alongside Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and the Neville brothers.

The 32-year-old said: "I had a decision to make about whether to keep on playing for two or three years or start coaching. But after speaking to Jim Hackett I knew what I wanted to do and with my qualifications under my belt, the time was right to move into coaching."