3 min read
26th Aug 2023
James Collins says there are lessons to learn from the opening three Premier League 2 fixtures of the season.
Wolves under-21s are still awaiting their first point, but there have been promising signs in front of goal and positives in terms of the individual performances. Following a 3-2 defeat at Middlesbrough on Friday, head coach Collins has pinpointed the second half display as where his side allowed a 2-1 lead to slip, but has explained that the development of players as individuals carries more weight than the result itself.
On a promising first half
“It was a game of two halves and I thought we were totally dominant in the first half. We should’ve been more than 2-1 up.
“We gave a soft goal away which is how we’ve started the season, but we also look really threatening and got two goals, could’ve got more.
“I was pleased to come in 2-1 up at half-time and I thought we were excellent in the first half.”
On the second half
“In the second half they pressed us a bit more, went man-for-man in midfield and made life hard for us. We found it really difficult to find the solutions.
“We went long a little bit too much in the second half and weren’t brave enough to get on the ball. When we did get on the ball, we only did ok with it.
“I still didn’t think they were a major threat. I thought that if we could see it out with good defending then we’d win the game.
“However, very similar to the Fulham game, Palmi (Arinbjornsson) hasn’t really had a shot to save and we’ve conceded two goals in the second half.”
On lessons to be learnt
“They’re the harsh lessons of football. The lucky thing is, we’re doing it in a development environment.
“These boys are going to be going into a first-team environment to do it hopefully soon, so they’ve got to learn the lessons.
“They can’t come in thinking they’re unlucky every week despite playing well for spells. A lot of the boys individually will think they’ve done quite well and I can see why they think that.
“The truth is, in key moments, too many didn’t stand up and be counted. They’re really good lessons for them to learn, hard lessons for them to learn.”
On the positives from a developmental point of view
“We’re scoring more than we did last year. We’re on five – two, two and one which is decent. We’ve not been kept out yet where as last year we had a lot of those.
“We look better at certain things this season. Without the ball, we’re not as secure as we were and we’ll have to work on it.
“It’s about remembering it’s about the individuals and making sure they play to develop themselves.
“We’ve got to improve our players in key moments and key areas. For long periods of all three games, we’ve been the better team but we’re sitting on no points and have conceded eight goals.
“In a positive way, there are great things to come out of the game from a development point of view.”
