YOUTH: We saw a lot of good things

“It was a good performance,” he said. “The lads were very consistent, apart from a little spell just before half time, and they continued on from where they had left off from the Burnley game.

“I asked them for that type of reaction because I wanted to see if they could maintain the levels they had reached. They achieved that for the majority of the game so we were very pleased with how they handled themselves.”

“Consistency is a major problem with young lads and we actually had to sit them down and have a discussion with them on Friday afternoon because they were terrible in training that morning,” he explained. “You’re trying to get them to be consistent in everything they do, on a day to day basis, and it can become a real issue for the coaching staff. 

“They struggle to maintain it, for whatever reason, but we’ve managed to get it from the performances in our last two games now. That’s good, but we want to see it in training as well. It’s about forming good habits and, if you can get that through the working week, it should fall into place for the games on a Saturday.”

“We saw a lot of good things from them in this game,” he said. “Things we have asked for are happening, the lads are getting fitter and they’re enjoying a good run of games. They’re starting to see that they’ll get the rewards if they put the effort in and it’s a good lesson to learn. 

“We were concerned about what we were going to get after that poor training session on Friday, but they listened to what we had to say and they went out there and produced the goods at the weekend. What we want to guard against is the games becoming the highlight of the week. We have to get a level of consistency through everything we do because they have to understand they’re getting judged on everything they do with us.”

On the game itself, he said: “We dominated for long periods and that was down to the lads doing the things they had been asked to do. They produced it individually and collectively and they all tried to do the right things in the right areas of the pitch. 

“If you do that then you’ll create chances and you’ll be testing their keeper and back four. We defended well at our end and Lewis Brass didn’t have too much to do, so that was another pleasing aspect. They’re starting to grow in confidence and we tell all of them before every game that they’ll make a mistake or give the ball away at some point. It’s how they react to that and how they deal with it which becomes important. If they make honest mistakes then nobody will ever mind because they are young players and they have to learn by trying things out.”

“We’re into a busy run of games now, with a couple of friendlies to get in there as well, but they’re enjoying it,” he concluded. “The sun has finally come out so we’re actually starting to see a few smiles on their faces as well.”

United – Brass, Thomson, Chisholm, Dickson, Marshall, Moyes (Wallace 70), White (Taylor 80), Dempsey, Hammell, Blackburn (Elliott 75), Hodgson. Subs – Eccles, Pearson.

Goals – Thomson, Blackburn, Dempsey, Hodgson.