YOUTH: Creating chances for fun

Alan Moore on the Preston and Rochdale games

Youth coach Alan Moore spoke to us about the Preston and Rochdale games last week.

"We didn't really get going in the Preston game," he admitted. "It was a competitive game but there wasn't a great deal of football played, so we had to battle hard. We got done with an early penalty and that was the difference between the teams.

"It's one that could have gone either way. It was a bitty game and there wasn't a great deal of chances. We had a little spell where we probably should have scored but overall it wasn't great to watch. It was a battle and they went away with the points so we have to say well done."

"We've looked at how we prepared for the game through the week and there are a few things we're going to change," he told us. "We looked a bit leggy for the first time this season so we gave them a light session on Monday and we looked fresh again on Tuesday.

"It's been a very busy five or six weeks, especially for the first years who have come into the club. We told them before the game that we're pleased with how they're performing and how they're taking information on."

On the Rochdale game, he said: "Tuesday was a good game of football. Rochdale came to play so it was a really open game which seemed to suit us. The lads performed very well after the difficult and busy period which we've just come out of.

"It was a totally different game to last Saturday. Consistency is difficult to get with the young lads. We've had two games at Creighton which we've lost and two games on the back pitch which we've won. There could be a little story in that somewhere.

"They've been excellent in the two games on the back pitch so I don't know if it's a psychological thing but they are enjoying it out there. They're putting on a real show and I've got a feeling we'll put five or six past someone fairly soon."

"We're going to get inconsistencies because that's what happens with young lads," he said. "As long as they know why they're having those indifferent spells, which is happening at the moment, then they'll be fine. The reason they're losing one or two is because they're having those spells together at the moment.

"We aren't just having a couple of players who are having a bad game, they're all going the same way. When they all play well, which they did on Tuesday, they're really good to watch. They're creating chances for fun and we could have been five or six up in the second half."

On the free weekend this weekend, he told us: "We got a bye in the cup so we're trying to let the lads unwind a little bit.

"We've had a lot of games so we're trying to let them recover. Some of the lads have played over 1000 minutes already. We'll let them recover before we go into another run of Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday fixtures again next week.

"We do still have some lads that need minutes under their belt so we've organised a game against Newcastle. We've also got Joe Breen who is still waiting on international clearance, so it will give us a chance to get minutes into other bodies and have a look at other things."

"We've had a couple of discussions with regards to getting a few of the lads out to play men's football," he told us. "It might be a case of waiting until we get this next run of games out of the way before we can get them out and give them the experience of playing at that next level."

United v Preston: Bacon, Hurley, Pearson, Holt, Douglas, Robson, McCue (Brown 60), Rudd, Hall, Salkeld, Bradbury (Egan 46). Subs: Fowler, Groves.