CRAWLEY Town boss John Yems has warned Saints loanee Will Ferry that his loan spell won’t “all be good” but quipped that he would like “couple of grand when he signs his first pro contract.”

Ferry has been a regular for the Saints B team but is getting his first taste of senior football with Yems’ League Two side while on loan.

Since joining the Reds, he has made ten appearances assisted two goals and scored his only goal in the side’s 2-1 win over Bradford.

Asked about what he wants from the youngster, Yems joked: “Couple of grand when he signs his first pro contract wouldn’t go amiss.”

He added: “No it’s just, having been there, it’s the difference, the difference is academy football.

“It’s took a lot for him to come down to this level and to prove it at this level, because some playing in academies the physicality alone they wouldn’t be able to handle.

“You’re not getting a report sent to you by 67 people telling you how to do your laces up, someone helping him comb his hair, and someone telling him reasons for growing a beard and things like that.

“It’s just being a man, on the football pitch, it’s as simple as that. You’ve got someone like Tony Craig who has played 650 games, Glenn Morris 500 league games, and then you go the other side of it, Tom Nichols who had gone for big money at Will’s age.

“It’s a learning curve, he will learn things here that he will never ever forget, good and bad, it isn’t all going to be good for him.

“Let’s not dress it up like he’s coming to spend four or five months at the Vatican, if he isn’t doing something right he will get told, and vice versa if we aren’t doing something right the fans will tell us. It’s the real world.”

Ferry came through the youth academy at Southampton after joining the club from the Bury under 18s in 2017.

The midfielder has already represented the Republic of Ireland at under 18, under 19 and under 21 levels. The 20-year-old's spell at Crawley Town will expire on May 31 next year and could have a vital role to play for the club.