We Need To Show More Control, Says Barradell

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We Need To Show More Control, Says Barradell

Adam Barradell hopes the new-look Under-18s can learn from their West Bromwich Albion draw to end the season on a high.

2026-04-14T11:10+01:00

by Matthew Temple

Published

14 Apr, 2026

We Need To Show More Control, Says Barradell

Adam Barradell hopes the new-look Under-18s can learn from their West Bromwich Albion draw to end the season on a high.

Matthew Temple

2026-04-14T11:10+01:00

We Need To Show More Control, Says Barradell

Adam Barradell hopes the new-look Under-18s can learn from their West Bromwich Albion draw to end the season on a high.

Matthew Temple

2026-04-14T11:10+01:00

We Need To Show More Control, Says Barradell

Adam Barradell hopes the new-look Under-18s can learn from their West Bromwich Albion draw to end the season on a high.

Matthew Temple

2026-04-14T11:10+01:00

We Need To Show More Control, Says Barradell

Adam Barradell hopes the new-look Under-18s can learn from their West Bromwich Albion draw to end the season on a high.

Matthew Temple

2026-04-14T11:10+01:00

Leicester City Under-18s drew 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday
Jake Fletcher and Cole Dexter both found the net at the Fitlife Foods Performance Centre
Adam Barradell reacted to the point, and the remainder of the season, with four games to go in U18 Premier League South

Jake Fletcher opened the scoring on Saturday, but a second half equaliser from Cole Dexter meant the points were shared.

With plenty of new faces coming through into the Under-18s, as more of the group move on to the Development Squad, the coach has seen promise but believes there are key learnings from the encounter at Fitlife Foods Performance Centre.

“It was a competitive game,” Barradell opened with. “We had the better of the first half and West Brom probably shaded the second half, but I still think we had enough opportunities, we just needed to show more quality when on the ball in the final third.

Jake Fletcher scored for the Young Foxes last weekend.

“I was pleased with some of the quality we showed; it was good to see Jake Fletcher score again. He’s a first-year scholar that has come in since Lorenz Hutchinson has gone up to the Under-21s and he’s scored a few goals now for the Under-18s.

"We just needed to have more control and more moments of sustained possession, which will be the challenge between now and the end of the season.

“The goal we conceded was disappointing and came from a lapse in concentration, which is frustrating because they didn’t create too many opportunities, and I think we should’ve come out with a clean sheet.”

Towards the final run-in of the season, it’s normal to see younger players given the opportunity to adapt before progressing through in the summer.

Discussing how that works, the coach is pleased with their efforts to work hard each day, hoping this early integration will help them come the off-season.

He explained: “With players doing well, you look at the Under-21s, they’ve got a lot of players that started with the Under-18s, and that gives opportunities to other players from the Under-16s and Under-15s to come through.

Four games remain this season for the Under-18s.

“I’m not surprised when we do see some disjointed performances, because they’re not all training every day, but they are applying themselves really well and taking the opportunities when they come in, and hopefully we can integrate them with more minutes, which will benefit them next year.

“That’s what this season is about, I know we want to finish as high as we can, we’re fifth at the moment, but it’s also about putting individuals in a good place for pre-season and into the season next year.”

Four games remain in the U18 Premier League this term, and that starts with a home game against second-bottom Norwich City in Seagrave, this Saturday (12:30pm BST kick-off).

Going on to say how there is no easy game at this level of Academy football, Barradell is hoping the young Foxes can finish strongly, and improve on their current fifth-place position.

“Every game is difficult in this league, and every game is a challenge, with each team posing a different challenge,” the coach continued. “So we’ll focus on what we need to do and not too much on Norwich and where they are in the table.

“They’ve got some good individual players and it’s about hitting the performance level, and moving on from the West Brom fixture, showing more quality.

“That’s what we need, and we can’t fault the application, but in key moments, we have to show a bit more quality in both boxes.”

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