Peake: City Under-18s Are On The Right Track
The young Foxes found wins hard to come by during the regulation season but, once the U18 Premier League pyramid had split into three pools back in March, Peake’s side recovered from their early difficulties to finish fifth in Group C.
With many of his players stepping up to Steve Beaglehole’s Under-23s side over the past 10 months, Peake believes the seeds have been sewn for his young crop to enjoy a fruitful campaign when the new season commences in August.
Alongside their league duties, the UEFA Youth League posed new challenges this term while City also reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals, where they suffered a slender 1-0 defeat by eventual winners Chelsea.
“It’s been a tough season for our Under-18s,” Peake said. “It has made a lot of room for the Under-17s to step up because we have pushed so many onto the Under-23s. That’s what it’s all about so it means more chances for everyone.
“Our Under-17s have had the most pitch time of any group during my five times in charge of them. Hopefully that continues. The FA Youth Cup was great.
"The lads really enjoyed it. We coped as well as we could have done. In the end, Chelsea, who knocked us out, ended up as worthy winners.
“The time they spend with Steve Beaglehole is very important. It’s not an easy step into the Under-23s when you’re a younger age. We need to prepare more players for Steve before they go out on loan or into the first-team here.”
As well as playing domestically, the young Foxes also enjoyed a host of trips abroad throughout the season including tournaments in Hong Kong and Prague over the summer months.
“It has been very rewarding,” Peake added. “They are really lucky to have those opportunities against different teams from different countries.
"The possession-based games what a lot of European sides play was a learning curve in itself. It’s an area we have isolated that we can do better in.
“The format will be the same for our league programme and planning has also begun. There have been some very competitive games at Under-18s level.
"At the start of the season, you get some of the older lads playing but, since then, we’ve dipped into the Under-16s levels too.
"Planning for the future, we might have to take a hit with results this season to do a lot better next season.”
Peake was keen to stress, however, that he has been delighted with the application of his squad throughout the campaign. The omens are good, he says, for Leicester to challenge higher up in the league standings next term.
“The group we have now are probably the most honest group we’ve taken,” he continued.
“I’m looking forward to seeing them lead by example next year. The desire and motivation is key. There are a few lads who have shown that they can do that this year. Hopefully they can continue doing that next year.”
Last August, midfielder Harvey Barnes was little known by many City fans. Now, however, he is considered one of the Club’s brightest talents and Peake has backed the 19-year-old to go from strength to strength over the coming years.
“I don’t know whether we expected him to climb the ladder so quickly but he took his chance,” the Under-18s boss added.
“He is really pleased with how it has gone. He has shown that it can be done at that level and from that environment we have created here. Harvey has been here from a young age.
"He has always been very focussed and prepared to work hard on his game.”