STUART Watkiss intends to successfully blend youth and experience after a hectic day of transfer dealings.

The capture of right-back Wayne Evans was followed up by the equally experienced addition of his former Rochdale team-mate Daryl Burgess.

Watkiss also captured midfielder Laurie Wilson, son of ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny, from Burton.

While Wilson, 20, played just three matches for Wednesday and not many more at Burton last season, Evans and Burgess have nearly 900 Football League games between them.

Both have West Midlands connections with Evans playing at Walsall from 1993 until 1999 and Burgess a stalwart of 377 games at West Brom from 1989 until 2001.

So Watkiss will have an experienced defence, considering Mark Jackson and the transfer-listed Wayne Hatswell are still on the books.

He said: "I want to build a side that will get the ball down and play quick football.

"To do that, you need quite a few younger players in the squad, but you also need a decent mixture of older heads to allow these players to develop on and off the pitch.

"There were too many times last season when I felt we missed the presence of experienced players to bully and control the game in our favour. It is my aim to make sure that doesn't happen next year.

"Ultimately, I want to build a squad with one eye on the long-term future of the club. However, in the short term, it is my intention to put together a side good enough to get us back in the Football League as soon as possible."

Evans, 33, Burgess, 34, and Wilson have all signed 12-month deals.

Meanwhile, midfielder Dean Keates has joined Lincoln City as expected and the released Ian Foster is now a Forest Green Rovers player. Target Sam Aiston has chosen Tranmere.