SAINTS manager Ruben Selles credited Premier League debutants Kami Doyle and Dom Ballard, labelling them players “who feel the club”.

Academy stars Ballard, 18, and Doyle, 17, were late substitutes in the team’s 3-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion in the final away game of the league season.

Although Ballard has played twice before in cup competitions, scoring on his first appearance at Cambridge United in October, Doyle was making his first senior step.

On a day which also saw Tino Livramento return, Ballard and Doyle offered excitement and promise away from the league season – with relegation already confirmed.

Speaking about the young lads after the match, Selles said: “They have been working for us in the last part of the season and have been performing really well with the B team as league champions.

"It's a natural thing. Dom and Kami are players who feel the club and want to play and want to do well for the club.

“I know we have a large squad and sometimes it can look like they're close. But we keep coaching them and we keep bringing them into training.

"If they were not good enough then I wouldn’t give them the opportunity. Sam (Amo-Ameyaw) was here but was the 21st player in the squad and Jayden (Meghoma) is with the national team so they weren't involved.”

He concluded: “If we give the players the time and training then they are good enough."

Ballard and Doyle, as well as Amo-Ameyaw, could feature in the club’s final match of the campaign – they host Liverpool on Sunday, May 28.