Peake Delighted By Under-18s' Progress

- Academy boss Trevor Peake has praised his Leicester City Under-18s players after a fruitful few weeks in the Premier League U18 South

- City secured a hard-fought 2-2 draw at local rivals Aston Villa on Saturday after a spirited display against Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup

- The young Foxes now have just two matches remaining in their league programme after climbing above Swansea City in the table 

- Peake's men reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals this season before falling to a slender defeat against holders Chelsea

Simran Thandi and Harrison Myring struck either side of half-time at Bodymoor Heath to help the young Foxes climb off the bottom of the Premier League U18 South table with just two matches of the campaign remaining. 

Peake, whose side also performed admirably in a during their FA Youth Cup quarter-finals clash at King Power Stadium last week, has been buoyed by their upturn in fortunes in recent weeks. 

Speaking to LCFC.com on Tuesday morning, the Academy Manager said: “It has been encouraging in many ways. One of the major things is the amount of effort and determination we have shown, especially against Chelsea. 

“We had three Under-16s starting at Villa so we had a younger group of lads. I think we only had Simran who started after Chelsea. It was different in the respect that we had a lot more possession in the Villa game. 

“To get two goals in one game is unusual for us so that was a positive. Having said that, we should have really scored more. We had 19 shots and 13 within the 18-yard box but still only managed the two goals.” 

Peake says he has noticed many players grow in confidence as the season has progressed and, ahead of the final two fixtures of the year, against Norwich City and Southampton, he is optimistic of picking up more points. 

“It’s still a massive improvement from games gone by,” he added. “We’ve tried to approach every with a winning mentality. Some of the opposition has been too much for us and you’ve got to hold your hands up. 

“These are two games which certainly are winnable. We’re going there in good spirits, possible the best since our decent start at the beginning of the season.”