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Olivier Bernard believes that Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy is a shining example to young non-league players who may have slipped through the net.

Bernard, who is currently director of football at Durham City, feels that the North East is still one of the greatest catchment areas in the UK.

And he is currently scouring Durham in the hope of unearthing some of the game’s hidden talents.

Indeed, Bernard feels that Durham can pick out some of the country’s best youngsters and potentially offer them the platform to go on and prove themselves – just like Vardy.

The Foxes ace stunned Manchester United with a brilliant performance in the 5-3 win last weekend.

When asked if there could be talents like Vardy – playing for Stocksbridge Park Steels just four years ago – Bernard said: “Definitely.

“That is exactly what we are all about at Durham. That is my goal as director of football.

“We have a young squad and I have four 16-year-olds here that I believe should be playing Academy football.”

Durham, of course, is the catchment area that once discovered ex-England skipper Bryan Robson, while former Middlesbrough and England defender Colin Cooper, Toon icon Steve Harper and famous names like Bobby Robson and Jackie Milburn all hail from the catchment area of Co Durham.

Manchester United closed their school of excellence in the area a few years ago.

But Bernard feels he can find new blood. He said: “Co Durham is such a vast area.

“And we’re on the look-out for players.

“You can go from Easington right out to Darlington or Hartlepool in this area and there are plenty of players out there.

“Some may have been missed by the big clubs.

“For example, we have a kid who is a talent but stopped playing for a few years because his family had some issues. You just don’t know.”

And Bernard said youngsters can always put their case to the club.

Durham have great facilities and they are there for the community, according to the ex-Toon star.

He said: “We encourage people to email us or get in touch. We take trial players and give people a chance.

“If we get a bunch of kids from a certain age, say 14 or 15, and there are 11 or 12 of them, we would start a team.

“The coaches are here so we are ready to give them a go.”

More information on trials at Durham FC at www.durhamcityafc.com