SHOLING have drafted in five new recruits as they prepare for life back in the Sydenhams Premier Division.

The Boatmen, relegated from the Southern One South & West for ground grading reasons, have kept the average age of their squad down with a quintet of signings aged 25 and under.

Forward James Davis, 25, is the oldest of the bunch and arrives fresh from a strong season with Lymington Town where he contributed 15 goals in 42 appearances.

He is joined at the Silverlake Arena by another of John Pyatt’s Lymington side, 20-year-old midfielder Jamie Bulpitt, who was on the fringes of Eastleigh’s Conference South squad before spells with Bashley and AFC Totton.

Clive Makoni, a pacy 21-year-old forward out of the AFC Bournemouth youth ranks, has made the switch across from Bashley, while the youngest of Sholing’s additions is 19-year-old midfielder/defender Jack Shiner who started out at Southampton's academy before moving across to Eastleigh.

The Boatmen’s fifth signing is 24-year-old forward Lewis Kelly, a Londoner who was a trainee at Coventry City.

Manager Dave Diaper explained: “Lewis came to us through a mutual friend and was training with us for the last five weeks of last season.

“Because he’s been out of the game a while he’s been working on getting himself fitter and he’ll be starting in earnest come pre-season.

“One thing all these lads have got in common is that they’re nice people with good character. They know nothing comes for free and they’ve got to work for the shirt.

“Myself and Stu (assistant manager Stuart Hussey) had a short-list of players we wanted, we’ve worked our way through it and we’re very pleased with what we’ve got.”

The bulk of last season’s squad have re-signed with Tobi Adekunle, Rory Anderson, Pete Castle, Marvin McLean, Dan Miller, Les Mwenze, Sam Olaofe and Jack Smith joining skipper Byron Mason and supporters’ player-of-the-year Alex Sawyer in putting pen to paper .

Sholing have also handed two-year contracts to promising teenage trio Owen Roundell, Dan Dove and Jordan Brooks, while Diaper has still to meet other first-team squad members currently away on holiday.

The Boatmen begin pre-season training on Monday (June 22, 7pm) at the Silverlake Arena and friendlies get underway at Liss Athletic on Saturday, July 11.

Admission prices for 2015/16 have been set at £5 adults, £3 concessions, £2 under-16s and free for under-12s, but fans can make big savings by taking advantage of the club’s ‘early bird’ season-ticket offers (details at www.sholingfc.co.uk).