BRIDGING the gap between the academy and the first team at Wanderers was one of the most important legacies left behind by Neil Lennon – but could a future exist where the youth system operates independently from the club?

As the Northern Irishman begins a new chapter in his career at Hibs he may do well to remember some of those early choices which got the town buzzing about his arrival.

Virtually the whole academy system had been alienated under Dougie Freedman’s reign a couple of years ago. Coaching staff were even denied a car parking space at Euxton in what became a bitter battle fought out behind the scenes right up to the Scot’s exit in 2014.

Lennon’s decision to men those relationships helped lay the path for the likes of Zach Clough and Josh Vela to make their first team bow. That trickle of talent then turned into a steady flow as the club’s ailing finances forced youth even further to the fore with the likes of Rob Holding and Tyler Garratt.

Nearly two years on from Lennon’s reconciliation, the two arms of the club are now facing the new season in close quarters. Euxton sold, Lostock is now the official training base. Distance may no longer a problem for the academy but it can be argued its future is at much greater risk now than it was back in those frosty days under Freedman.

The need to cut costs in League One will almost certainly lead to the second drop in category in successive years for the Whites. The club stress no firm decision has been taken and that advice will be sought from the Football League before a category three academy is confirmed but the writing does, at this moment in time, look on the wall.

Running a full-time academy – which still bears the name of former owner Eddie Davies – will cost nearly £1million in the next 12 months. The club’s ownership argue that money may be better channelled towards the first team and their quest to return to the Championship.

Where exactly that leaves the academy, which has proven its worth in the last 12 months more effectively than at any other time in its existence, or trusted lieutenants like Jimmy Phillips, David Lee and Nicky Spooner is a matter of hot debate.

Wanderers have examined number of funding options, both externally and internally, to keep the academy going as a category two, so far without success.

Discussions with the Supporters’ Trust have reached an impasse. Co-owner Ken Anderson issued a very public invitation for the newly-established organisation to put their cash in but that seems to have been very quickly rebuffed after a disagreement over the amount of financial information they needed to access to do due diligence.

Backed by a groundswell of support among their membership, the trust are believed to be exploring other routes. One may be to operate the academy on a completely separate business, part-funded by a number of available grants.

The idea of an associated academy is relatively new in this country but is quite common on foreign soil, and particularly Spain.

Many academies operate independently from clubs – the Nike-sponsored example working out of the FA base at St George’s Park.

Those connected directly to club by name are rarer, though neighbours Bury operated with an academy funded by their Community Trust until quite recently – and can count the likes of David Nugent, David Worrall and Nicky Adams on their alumni.

It has been suggested that the academy could be opened up as a community asset which is not limited exclusively to the club – something which would tick the boxes of an organisation like the trust.

The groundwork to get such an operation off the ground, however, would be considerable. The trust is still without an elected body, let alone the ready funding to commit to such an extensive operation in the short-term.

Though Wanderers insist nothing is set in stone, a step back to what is essentially a school of excellent may be a temporary measure which has to be taken in the current climate.

Considering the rewards the club has reaped in the last few years it seems a strange time to cut funding and a bitter pill to swallow for those players who are midway through the system, not to mention the fine coaches who got them there.