FORMER Magpies’ ace and current AFC Bournemouth academy coach Matty Holmes is used to seeing footballers develop from a young age, none more so than son Luke, who is following in his footsteps at Dorchester Town.

Matty remembers his boy, now 18, running around the Avenue as a toddler when his dad played for the county town club more than a decade ago.

Mark Jermyn was just getting into his stride in Dorchester colours at that time, and little did he know that one day he would be signing Luke as Magpies’ boss.

Luke has made a bright start to his career with the club having slotted into the squad seamlessly since joining last November.

Dad Matty is enjoying being back at the Avenue on a more regular basis these days to watch Luke play – and he reckons there is still plenty more to come from the teenager as he grows older.

“He is still finding his feet,” said the ex-West Ham and Blackburn winger. “But I think there is a lot to come from Luke.

“He won’t be fully developed until his early 20s so it could be three or four years until we see the best of him.

“Luke is his own person. At times there are expectations from people that because a dad played at a high level his son should do the same or play in a similar way.

“He has always been brought up to get the ball down and play, and I think that’s why clubs have looked at what he has done so far.

“When he went to Wimborne as a second-year apprentice at Bournemouth I think Steve Cuss liked the fact he had been brought up to play the right way.

“I always had that in my game and I’d like to think I’ve passed it on to both my boys.”

Matty is delighted with the way that Jermyn, assistant-manager Nick Crittenden and first-team coach Stuart Heath have helped Luke following his arrival.

He added: “Mark speaks to Luke a lot and Nick and Stuart have been wonderful since he joined.

“Luke has got the respect of the players already.

“Going into a new dressing room is always tough, especially as a youngster.

“You’ve got to fit in and impress the management straight away.”

As for how far Luke can progress in the game, Matty continued: “I think you need a lot of luck along the way. The main thing is he has got to be happy.

“If he plays well for Dorchester there are always scouts at that level watching.

“Work is his number one priority but football is his love and passion and if anything happens then he has got to make a decision.”