SAINTS have been drawn in a group with Cambridge United, Peterborough United and Northampton Town in the Checkatrade Trophy.

A team of the club's under-21 players will compete in the tournament for a second successive season, having reached the first knockout stage last season.

The competition, which Saints won as a League One club during its days as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2010, opened its doors to Category One status academies for the first time last season.

Saints were very pleased with the experience for their young players, as Martin Hunter's side took valuable lessons from playing League One and Two teams on a competitive stage.

After beating Crawley and Colchester United - and drawing with Charlton Athletic, the club's under-23s reached the knockout stages, before losing out to Reading's academy on penalties.

And after seeing Josh Sims and Sam McQueen break into the first team, after impressing in the Checkatrade Trophy, Saints decided to accept an invitation to next term's tournament.

After Wednesday's group stage draw, they will face League One sides Peterborough and Northampton as well as fourth tier outfit Cambridge.

The selection criteria for invited under-21 teams is ‘six players from the starting 11 must be under the age of 21 as of 30th June 2017'.

The first round of fixtures are scheduled to take place week commencing 28th August.