Following a youthful Wanderers XI’s 1-1 draw with local non-league outfit Atherton Collieries at the Kensite Stadium on Tuesday evening, Under-23s boss David Lee offered his thoughts.
Speaking to bwfc.co.uk directly after the pre-season opener, Lee discussed the following points…
On youth against experience….
It was a good workout for us. We had a number of trialists and Under-16s playing and I thought they conducted themselves well. Atherton are a big, physical and strong team, so it was always going to be a test for our lads, but it was important that we got some minutes into them. Overall I’m really pleased for them.
On a young team learning….
From our perspective, we’ve learned that we need to move the ball quicker and not dwell on it, because once or twice they dwelled on it and got a good clattering. But, they learned from it and then they moved the ball quicker.
On positives to come out of the game….
The game was all about our lads getting minutes under their belts, but it is also a good experience for them. A few of the lads are new into the club, alongside the trialists as well, so it was a blend of players on show but I thought they did ok and there were some positives to come out of the game.
On the team playing with freedom…
As a manager, you’ve sometimes got to take a backwards step and let the players express themselves, and I think we did that tonight. We didn’t put too many demands on them, other than letting them know to work hard in possession and work hard out of possession. We let the players have that freedom, and work well together and I thought they did that tonight.
On James Aspinall’s performance….
I was really pleased with James, I think he conducted himself so well. Even though he didn’t have a lot to do in the game, when he was called upon he made some magnificent saves. He’s developing well as a young man.
On the young professionals…
Harry (Brockbank) and Joe (Muscatt) didn’t make the first team squad that went to Scotland last week, so they perhaps had a bit more of a point to prove. They both conducted themselves well tonight and got their fitness levels up. They competed and they’re honest lads, so hopefully they’ll move a little bit closer to the first team squad.