HE is only 25, yet Liam Gilbert considers himself a “senior head” in a young AFC Totton team.

The tenacious midfielder has been sorely missed this week after taking a poke in the eye during the Stags’ 2-1 league defeat at North Leigh ten days ago.

His physical presence would have come in handy in the FA Cup last Saturday against a streetwise Swindon Supermarine side who battled their way a 2-0 win.

Gilbert watched that encounter from behind dark sunglasses, protecting damage to his cornea and iris, but he was back on the bench on Tuesday, going on as a second-half sub against Winchester in the Hampshire FA Senior Cup.

Despite staging a grandstand finish, the Stags were humbled 3-2 by the Sydenhams Premier visitors and head into tomorrow’s home game against Tiverton Town anxious to avoid a fifth straight league and cup defeat.

Totton boss Steve Riley has admitted his fresh-faced side “probably don’t have enough leaders” and “lack experience in niggly games” but, in Gilbert, they have a young man who relishes a battle.

“I like a bit of a physical game,” said the midfielder.

“We’ve got such a young squad that there’s no one much to protect them at the moment.

“I’m one of the senior heads at 25!”

Gilbert, whose parents run The Dolphin Inn in Hursley, has crammed a lot into his young life.

He spent five years in America, combining football with college studies, and currently works with Eastleigh’s head of youth development Lee Peacock as under-13s academy/under-18s manager.

“My campus in America was five miles from Niagara Falls and I played in a team with Kyle (Totton’s American midfielder Kyle O’Brien) in Vermont,” said Gilbert.

“They like an English accent and one-on-one coaching is big out there. I had a few job offers, but I’ve got the playing bug again and I’m back living at my parents’ pub in Hursley.” On returning from the States in 2013, Gilbert gained match sharpness with Horndean before joining the Stags in January this year.

It was no coincidence that his arrival coincided with a marked upturn in fortunes for Totton, who finished the Southern Premier season strongly, almost pulling off ‘mission impossible’ of top-flight survival.

That form overlapped into this season as the Stags stormed to the top of Southern One South & West, winning five of their first six league games.

That progress has stalled, however, and manager Riley is calling for consistency ahead of mid-table Tivvy’s visit.

“We’ve seen a level of performance that’s first class and we’ve seen a level down at the opposite end,” he said.

“To compete in this league, especially once the pitches get heavy, we need middle to top performances every week.

“I’d have taken fifth place at this stage, but the challenge is there for the boys to show what they can do when the chips are down.

“We need winners, leaders and players who don’t hide or worry about making mistakes.”