4 min read
15th Sep 2022
Steve Davis and his under-18s are back in action this weekend, hosting Everton at Compton Park on Saturday morning in the Premier League North.
The youngsters have had two weeks without a game following the Leeds United postponement, but Davis ensured the time in between the Premier League Cup defeat to Charlton Athletic didn’t go to waste.
Solihull Moors under 19s were the visitors on Tuesday afternoon as a mixture of 18s and 21s came together to secure a 4-3 victory in a well-fought contest. This gave Davis and 21s head coach James Collins the opportunity to provide minutes to players who haven’t featured as regularly while, at the same time, presenting them with a stern test.
On maximising the time without a game
“We’ve been training as normal and been able to work on things individually and collectively with the lads.
“Obviously, we’ve got to keep them as fit as possible, so we’ve stepped up the training and they’ve been doing double sessions at times.
“We organised a friendly against Solihull Moors for some of the 21s who haven’t played and some of our lads who needed the game time.
“It was a good exercise – Solihull came and did really well. They gave us a good game and that’s exactly what we wanted. We wanted an intense game which is much better than an in-house game where you don’t get that intensity.
“It served its purpose and gave important minutes to the players. The 21s have got a really tough schedule coming up and we’ve got Everton on Saturday.”
On working closely with the under-21s group
“We play the same system as the 21s so what we do is very similar. The majority of that group is quite young anyway, it’s pretty much what was in the 18s last season – nine of those signed pro deals and have all moved up.
“The possibility of any of the under-18s joining that group is what we want. We want to make that PDP one group as opposed to two separate groups. The exposure to the 21s is really good for our lads.”
On team selection
“We mixed it up a bit against Charlton, we weren’t as strong as we could’ve been and that was to give others a game and have a look at players knocking on the door.
“With Saturday’s game coming up we’ll be basing team selection on the lads who are performing the best. I want it to be competitive, I want the lads to earn their place in the team rather than just expect to be picked.
“In years to come, their performances will get them the games and into the team. The earlier they can pick that up and realise that the better.”
On Saturday’s visitors Everton
“They’re always tough games because of the way they’re brought up. They fight for everything, they’re always well organised and competitive.
“We know that a typical Everton team is a tough game and their group this season looks very physical, with strengths in certain areas as well.
“We always expect a tough game whoever we play. We respect all the teams in the league and Everton at home won’t be an easy one.
“Having not played for a couple of weeks we’ll be looking forward to it.”
On the form of Owen Farmer and Leon Chiwome
“I know they’re going to get chances. We’ve worked a lot on how we get the ball into the box and what we do when we get around it.
“Owen and Leon have now got a good understanding and partnership where they’re working well off each other, getting into good areas when balls are delivered into the box and they’re looking for each other with combinations.
“I don’t think one can do well without the other so as a partnership they’ve both got to work hard for each other – they’ll both then get their rewards for that.
“They always look a goal threat, they’re both good finishers and they work very hard on the training ground to become better finishers.
“We’ve always got that goal threat. Even in a game we’re not creating a great deal, they will still get one or two chances. More often than not, they hit the back of the net so hopefully they can do that for us on Saturday.”