Collectively We Were Brilliant, Says Barradell
- Leicester City Under-18s beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0 on Saturday morning
- Jake Evans scored twice in the win at LCFC Training Ground
- Adam Barradell gives his verdict on the victory in Seagrave
- City travel to Southampton this Saturday afternoon
Following extra-time heartbreak against Manchester City in the U18 Premier League Cup, the young Foxes bounced back to winning ways with a dominant performance at home to the Baggies.
The win sees Leicester sit seventh in the U18 Premier League South and continue their push towards the top half. Barradell spoke to LCFC.com to give his thoughts on a comfortable victory.
“It was a really pleasing performance,” the coach opened with. “I thought collectively we were excellent with and without the ball. To go in at half-time with such a lead was very pleasing.
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve talked about tight margins, and being better in both boxes, and obviously to score four and come away with a clean sheet; I thought the boys did very well.
“At half-time we spoke as a group about what we did in the first half, and about being professional and seeing out games, so we would’ve been very disappointed if conceded.
“We wanted to manage the ball, manage the game and have long periods on the ball in the West Brom half, so the talk was very much about what the game would look like at an Under-21s or a First Team level.”
Speaking about the progress of the team, Barradell referenced the three Under-16s players making their debut and saved a mention for Jake Evans, who took his seasonal goal tally up to six with a brace in Seagrave.
“I was pleased to see how young we were on the day,” the coach continued. “We had three debuts from the Under-16s - Louis Page came in and made his first start, Alpha Diallo came off the bench towards the end of the game and Jeremy Monga who I believe is one of the youngest players to feature for the Under-18s, so it was pleasing to see.
“We transitioned Jake [Evans] into the Under-18s in the first half of the season. He was coming off the bench a lot, but now he’s with us full-time, starting in games and I thought he was excellent off the right.
“He was a real threat, and he’s scored some excellent goals. It’s pleasing to see his performances and trajectory he’s on at the moment."
Seven games remain this season, as Leicester now prepare for a trip to the south coast where they will face a Southampton side currently eight points behind them in the standings.
Barradell outlined his targets for the rest of the season, stating that they want to finish as high as possible, but more importantly he wants to continue seeing younger players get their chances in the team.
The coach added: “We want to finish as high as possible but get the balance right with the players that we’re bringing through, so that we remain competitive, but in the league, we want to finish as high as possible.
“If we can break into the top six before the end of the season that would be pleasing, but also, we want the balance. I see the last six or seven games as getting the squad as close as it can be to the team next year.
“So, we want to get the Under-16s exposed to this level, while still fighting and competing in the games like we have been all season."