Eric Kinder spoke to us about the Walsall defeat
Youth boss Eric Kinder spoke to us about the disappointing home defeat to Walsall at the weekend.
"It was a very frustrating day," he said.
"With Walsall having to travel such a distance we decided to play the game even though the weather was poor and the pitch wasn't the best.
"I went to look at it at 6.30am and it was playable then. I gave them a call, they set off ... and then the heavens opened.
"I decided to give the referee a call, so he came along and had a look at it as well. We agreed that it was 50:50 but that we'd get away with it if we did some work. I had a go at being a groundsman but I think I made it worse. Somehow I got away with it and the game went ahead anyway.
"We then produced a performance that was absolutely shocking, so you can imagine my frustration after being up at 6am and doing all that work.
"We had a decent start to the game, to be fair, but they had a much older side than us and you could tell. They always have a strong team and they had six second years who have made it through to pro-contracts already, so it was never going to be easy. We won't use that as an excuse but I do have to say that 4-0 was very flattering for them, even though they did deserve to win.
"The game was won and lost within two silly five minute spells, one in the first half and the other in the second. We didn't take our chances at the other end - Connor Thomson should have put us in front early on and Danny Hodgson had one scrambled off the line - and it maybe just wasn't our day. It was fairly even but they adapted to the conditions better than we did and they were stronger than us. Overall they were the better team.
"There were some positives for us, which is important. Frankie Wallace played again and he was very good. I think he will be a very good addition for us next season.
"We also introduced two more from the under-16s. Cameron Dickson came on and played 20 minutes at right back and he's another who will be decent next season. Danny Hodgson got another run out and he looked good again.
"The other thing this one has done has given us food for thought for the northern-area Alliance Cup final. We face Walsall again in that one and it tells me that we need to get our second year players back. Tom Berwick and Brad Staunch failed fitness tests on Friday, so that left us a bit short. Patrick Brough was playing his first game for a while and Kyle Dempsey is carrying a bit of a knock, so it wasn't great for us. If we can get everybody fit for the final then it should be much closer than 4-0.
"It will probably be one of the games we look back on next season and we'll be glad we had it. The more exposure the younger lads can get the better it is for them, in my opinion.
"We've been out of the title race for a couple of months now so we really are looking at next season. We want to get the new lads playing as much as we can and we to finish things off properly with the second years. Hopefully that will include having a good go in the cup final at the beginning of next month."
United: Parker (Eccles 75) , Gwinnutt, Chisholm, Morse, Minor, Lynch, Wallace, Brough (Hodgson 48), Dempsey, Thomson (Dickson 73), Salmon. Subs: McEvoy, Clarey.