- Leicester City’s Development Squad defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 on Monday
- The Foxes youngsters face Stoke City in Premier League 2 this Friday night
- Coach Leon McSweeney assessed the recent performance against Boro
- He also looked to maintaining momentum when Stoke City visit Seagrave
Following up Premier League Cup success over Hull City with a 3-1 triumph at home to Middlesbrough in Premier League 2 on Monday, City’s Under-21s are starting to gather some real momentum in both competitions.
The young Foxes had to show a different side to their game, going a goal down to Ajay Matthews’ early penalty before finding a route back with two goals in four minutes and ultimately turning the tide to claim three points at LCFC Training Ground.
McSweeney praised the team’s character to not let their head drop in the face of adversity and is feeling optimistic about what they can achieve in the coming games, starting with Friday night’s battle against the Potters at LCFC Training Ground (7pm BST kick-off), having built a good platform.
“I’m very pleased with the result,” he commented. “For the young players, results are really important and I think they take a lot of heart from this. It bodes well going into Friday.
“When decisions like that (the penalty) go against you, it's about how you respond to them. I thought we were sloppy in the first 10 minutes so that was probably the kick up the backside we needed to up our ideas.
“But credit to the guys, they stuck to the task and then got the goals at important times in the game. But what I will say is, I thought we were sloppy overall in our play. Maybe the conditions tonight played a part for both teams, but I thought what I've seen on the training pitch wasn't a reflection of the game tonight.
“But when the football doesn't go well for you, you have to dig in. Sometimes you have to fight, you have to scrap and I thought the lads were fantastic tonight and it's great that we have another game so close now with Friday again.
“It’s another home game vs. Stoke and we want to make this place a difficult place to come, and we want to really make it a fortress for us and rack up most of our points in the home games.
“I think it releases the pressure when you go away from home then and gives the lads a feeling of this is our house, and if you want to come here and turn us over, you're going to have to scrap and you're going to have to earn the right to play. That's the mentality of the group so far this season.”
A young group, including forward Josh King - who stole the headlines with a first-half brace before Oli Ewing wrapped up three points for the hosts - have made a smooth transition into PL2, despite the step up in level between Under-18s and Under-21s football.
Offering his insight, McSweeney continued: “In front of goal, he (King) is a hot shot and we want to maximise that as much as we can and give him as much exposure to Under-21s football because he can do that on a regular basis. It's important to get him minutes and, when he responds like that, it's only going to get him more on the pitch.
“Training every day helps, I think that's massive, and then when they come up, the step up from Under-18s football is big in terms of physicality and the demands, and it's about easing them in, and some take to it quicker than others.
“It's important then that you keep stretching those ones that need to be challenged and bide your time with the ones that are a slow burners. That's the skill of the coaching staff to notice that and when to dip them in and when to take them out.
“I think we've got the balance quite well at the minute. We did it as a whole in the Premier League Cup, went really young in that, and the players coped admirably. Tonight, with Jake Evans on the left and Josh King down the middle, I thought they were a constant threat and it's lovely to have those options as a coach.”