Town U18s coach Gerard Nash says tonight’s FA Youth Cup third round tie against Sunderland at Portman Road is a big occasion for his boys (KO 7pm). The young Blues will be taking the first step on a path which they hope will ultimately see them emulate previous Town youth sides who won the tournament in 1973, 1975 and 2005.

Nash says the Youth Cup has a special place in the academy calendar: “It’s the competition they look forward to. It’s a big occasion for them in their lives. Their families will be there, their friends will be there and it’s an opportunity to play in a stadium in a knock-out competition.

“There’s prestige in the competition, the later rounds are on television. For the players it’s their first exposure to what being a professional footballer in the first team could be like for them. It’s a big thing in their lives, it’s important to them and they’re looking forward to it.”

The 27-year-old became an academy coach after his fledgling playing career was ended by a series of knee injuries having made one senior sub appearance for the Blues in addition to spells on loan at Hartlepool and Southend.

He says his fitness issues meant he missed out on the Youth Cup himself: “I was a scholar here for two years but I never actually played in the competition, I was always injured.

“To me it means a little bit less than the other lads but I do remember my team-mates’ excitement about it and I remember being devastated not to play in the competition.

“I think Sunderland knocked us out when I was a second-year, Grant Leadbitter scored the winner. It was a freezing cold night, it was snowy and I don’t think the match should have gone ahead.

“So, I unfortunately didn’t get to play in the competition, but when you’re that age it’s a big thing in their lives and they’re looking forward to it and they’re ready.”

He’s pleased to be taking on top flight opposition: “I think it’s a great draw, you always want to play the better teams in the country and Sunderland are a Premier League club with a category one academy.

“They’ll be a good side and personally I’d always want to play a so-called bigger team because you want to play against the best teams and you want to play against the best players.

“The only way they’ll improve is by playing against good teams. The better teams you play, generally the better you’ll become.

“It’s about them getting in the first team. Having a good run in the FA Youth Cup will help with that, it’ll give them more experience, more opportunities to play in stadiums, play against better teams the longer they progress."

The Irishman says tonight’s match will give more of an idea of the players’ progress than a regular league fixture: “The game is a benchmark in respect that quite often in a Saturday U18 game you can have schoolboys playing because your U18s are playing in the U21s on the Monday night.

“I think it is a benchmark because it’ll give us an indication of where some of our players are because we want them to be able to go out and perform and deal with the pressure that the game puts on them.

“The best players, the ones who generally come through, will cope with that pressure and relish it and be able to go out there and perform and have a positive effect on the game.

“We’ll be playing to win the game, we’ll have our strongest available team out. I’m sure Sunderland will do the same and it’ll be a hard-fought contest because we want to be in the hat for the next round and so will Sunderland.

“The importance of winning is very high, but also the level of performance demanded of players will be high too, so we don’t ask much, we just want a good performance and a victory.We’re easily pleased Bryan and myself!”

Nash has one or two injury absentees and full-back Amon Walton Owen is suspended, while Andre Dozzell, the 14-year-old son of former Blue Jason, is too young to be involved.

“We’re missing a few players, but that’s all part of it,” he said. “[Republic of Ireland U18 international winger] Cory Galvin has played in most of the games, he’ll be missing [due to a broken toe], [Northern Ireland U17 international striker] Jon Smith’s just had a knee operation, we’ve got one of our goalkeepers injured.

“We’ve got a few injuries but Sunderland will be the same. The team we put out on the pitch we hope will be good enough to put on a good performance and win the game.”

Several of Nash’s players have spent time with the first team squad and are regulars in the U21s: “Kyle Hammond has played a lot of games in the U21s both this season and last year.

“He’s just coming back from injury, he’s played a couple of games having been out with a knee injury but is back fit now and he’ll be playing at right-back.

“He’s someone we’d expect to put in a good performance, he’s been training with the first team regularly in recent weeks. He’d be someone we’ve got high hopes for.

“Byron Lawrence is someone who can hurt the opposition, we’ll be looking forward to getting him on the pitch.

“He’s someone who hasn’t spent a lot of time with the U18s in the last couple of years, so I’m hopeful that tomorrow he can come back down to the group and really impress everybody.

“Amir Berkane spent a bit of time with the first team in pre-season. He went on tour to Ireland in July.

“He’s another central midfield player, a good player and we’re hoping he can have a positive effect on the match.

“We’ll be hoping that the lads can go out there and show they’re good players because they need start doing that and kicking on and impressing the right people at the club so they can go and play at first team level in the future That’s what it’s all about.”

Having been appointed U18s coach after Russell Osman’s departure early in the season, Nash says he is enjoying his role: “I love the job that I do, I’m very lucky to work alongside somebody like Bryan, who a lot of the young coaches at the club are learning from all the time.

“It’s a very good club, it’s been very good to me over the years. I absolutely love my job. It’s obviously nowhere near as good as playing but there are certainly worse things I could be doing, so I’m very happy with it.”

Likely to be alongside him on the bench at Portman Road tonight is Alan Lee, who coaches the U18s while also a member of Mick McCarthy’s squad: “Alan’s got a foot in both camps at the moment. He trains with the first team quite a lot but when he can he’s really enthusiastic and really keen to come and help out, especially with the strikers.

“He does a lot of good work with them and he’s great to have around the place. We were out training this morning, he came out and took a little bit of training and he’ll be there against Sunderland. He’s another experienced man around the place and he’s terrific.

“With the EPPP coming into place over the last 12 or 18 months, it’s meant that we’ve really improved what we’re offering to the players.

“We’ve got physiotherapists, sports scientists, video analysts, psychologist, everything you could wish for really. The team we have around the players is fantastic. Everybody’s top class.”

He says he wants his team to emulate the spirit in the senior squad: “We hope that they follow the lead of the first team, not just in recent weeks but all season in being a group of players that will give absolutely everything for the team, for the club.

“Every time I go and watch the first team, that’s what you see, you see an outstanding team spirit, an outstanding team, a great togetherness and a unity.

“I think you’ll see that from the U18s against Sunderland, you’ll see the same effort, same desire, they’re a good set of lads, a hard-working group.

“That’s something that’s a prerequisite for the first team and we’d like it to be a prerequisite for the U18s, and hopefully we’ll bring good football to the pitch as well, knock it about, play some good stuff, create some chances, score some goals and win the game.”

Admission costs £3 for adults and £1 for concessions with only the Cobbold Stand open.

U18s: Michael Crowe, Kyle Hammond, Joe Robinson, Jack Willbye, George Fowler, Omar Sowunmi, Byron Lawrence, Amir Berkane, George Clarke, Teddy Bishop, Matthew Clarke, Ronaldo Jones, Jacob Marsden, Edward Ellis, Cemal Ramadan, Sam Ford.

Photo: Action Images

irishtim added 10:08 - Dec 11 Nice article, hope they can progress.
0

Ipswich Town Polls