Still hands Lacey the captaincy in a bid to make him more vocal

Town chief John Still is keen to see the 20-year-old become more vocal and take more responsibility in the pitch as on why he made him skipper, the boss explained: “It was because he hardly spoke in Portugal that made me decide that he should learn how to communicate better.

“I think he’s a very talented young man. I think it’s possible that there’s a player there and if there is he’s got to learn all aspects of the game and one is to be able to communicate and how to take responsibility.”

Lacey, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Conference South side Eastleigh at the end of last season, knows there are areas of his game he needs to develop, although he wasn’t fazed playing in the sweltering conditions during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Boreham Wood.

He added: “Running in almost 40 degrees heat is fantastic. A couple of hard sessions a day out in Portugal has been tough, but it’s been good, I’ve enjoyed it.”

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