4 min read
19th Jan 2023
James Collins has taken plenty of learning points from this season’s Premier League International Cup campaign, despite his under-21s exiting the competition in the group stage.
Porto, Valencia, Wolfsburg and Celtic have all travelled for fixtures with the old gold and it’s those experiences that Collins’ men have benefited from as a result of being in the highest tier of youth football. The head coach is looking at the bigger picture, stressing that although the team are eager for results between now and the end of the season, there’s also the development angle that holds a high priority.
On a tough test against Celtic
“The start to the game was lively and we knew it would be – they’re a high pressing team and we found that really difficult.
“We’d planned how to play around it, over it and through it. I have to say at times, we did. We looked a threat going forward but to concede three goals in the first 20 minutes means it’s an uphill task.
“We stuck at it and the boys kept going. We’ve got a young team post-Christmas but it’s a really good challenge for us and we hung on in there.
“We got two goals and with a bit more luck might’ve got one or two more, but I thought they could’ve got one or two more as well. It was a good test for where our players are at at the moment.”
On competing in the International Cup
“When we got promoted last year, that’s one of the bonuses of being in this top division – you get to play in a European competition.
“The difficult bit is that it falls in the international breaks where players were away and we had some tough games against Porto and Valencia when we were weaker than usual.
“Post-Christmas is always where players will go on loan or are around the first-team, so it’s tough.
“The competition’s a really good competition. We want to be in this division and we’ve had some good games in it.”
On Ty Barnett’s impact
“That’s what Ty is – he’s got real quality. He’s had tough times with injuries and is working really hard to get himself back fit. He isn’t fully fit yet and that’ll probably take a bit of time to get match fit, which is frustrating for him because he wants to play every minute of every game.
“We’ll try and get him a start coming up in the next game or two. He’s played for the 18s, but he’s ready for the step-up to the 21s now.
“He’s shown that tonight with his goal. It was very reminiscent of Chem (Campbell) when we first had him.
“That’s the difference – who in those games can show that bit of quality? We’ve been creating moments and chances, but he’s got the quality to tuck that in. That’s why he may have that little bit of X factor that you need. He’s got a long way to go, he knows that, and it’s the start of his journey.”
On the bigger picture
“It isn’t about winning football matches, but you want to win football matches. It’s about developing your players for the next level.
“We’ve got numerous players out on loan who are doing really well. Nigel Lonwijk at Plymouth could be playing here with us, but he’s playing in the league at Plymouth and doing really well.
“If he was here with us, we wouldn’t be conceding as many goals. People on the outside will see a defeat and maybe between now and the end of the season we’ll see a few more defeats.
“We understand the bigger picture. It’s about getting the next batch of players ready to go in and around our first-team and go on loan.
“What we want to do is make sure we’re in this division because it’s a higher challenge. Part of the challenge between now and the end of the season is to win enough games to stay in the league.”
