Scott Morton is adamant Somerset Trojans will play with no fear as they prepare to take on defending champions Devonshire Cougars in the Dudley Eve Trophy final tomorrow night.

The two teams meet at Devonshire Recreation Club with Morton aiming to win the first piece of silverware with his new club since returning to club football after a three-year hiatus.

While Morton, who took over the reins from Jomar Wilkinson in the summer, acknowledges that his young side go into the encounter as overwhelming underdogs, he has promised that they are relishing the opportunity to upset the odds.

“Cougars are definitely the favourites. They’re defending champions and have had a really strong start to he season,” said Morton, who in three seasons at PHC Zebras guided them to back-to-back league, Friendship Trophy and Charity Cup titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19. He also led the team to the FA Cup in his first season in 2016-17.

“They have also been together for two to three years while we are still a team in transition. However, all of our players are buzzing because it has been a long time since they’ve been in a final. We have a young squad and that means they have no fear to a certain extent.

“For sure we will have some challenging moments throughout the match but it’s about managing those moments and then trying to be fearless when we can.

“For us it’s all about enjoying the whole occasion but also trying to keep our composure and It’s up to me to keep the players level-headed because while they are obviously going to be excited, we still have a gameplan to execute.

“I believe in taking risks but they need to be calculated. We have to all be on the same page because we have a collective job to do in order to get a positive result. Certain things will be out of our control throughout the match so we have to be able to manage those situations.”

Morton has received a boost with the news that striker D’Andre Wainwright, who scored the only goal of the game in the semi-final success over Hamilton Parish, is available for the game despite managing a knee injury.

“He’s been training with us all week and seems healthy,” he said. “As things stand he’ll be a part of the squad for the final.”