Peake: Young Foxes Progressing Well
- Trevor Peake reflects on a brilliant opening spell for the Leicester City Under-18s
- The young Foxes sit in third place in the fledging Premier League U18s standings after six matches
- Last term, City finished 12th but already look a side capable of challenging at the top
- Peake's men also enjoyed a 6-1 friendly success over Rangers at Ibrox on Tuesday night
While the Club's Academy is ultimately judged on the number of players it shepherds into the Under-23s squad and beyond, results remain key for Peake's backroom team at Belvoir Drive.
The young Foxes have been in stunning form this season and, despite a 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa, they sit third in the early league standings, having finished 12th last term.
"We've had a really good season so far," Peake said. "We have only last twice this season and already won four times, which is a brilliant achievement.
"We mentioned last year how young we were, not so much as an excuse for results, but as a grounding for the younger age group that was about to come through.
"You always hope that will give them experience and knowhow that they can use to progress and that is exactly what has happened. It's been a wonderful few weeks for them all.
"The other factor is togetherness and a willingness to learn. They clock up some miles, they are really hard working as a group and some players are catching the eye."
Two who have done just that this term are Tyrese Shade, acquired from Solihull Moors, and young Connor Tee, who have both scored and assisted with ease so far this season.
"They are in the positions that get the glory, but it's worth stressing that they benefit from the hard work of the players behind them across the whole team," Peake added.
"They are two very hard-working individuals. Connor plays in a No.10. If you look at our first team, when [Shinji] Okazaki plays, he is a bundle of energy, and Connor is just like that."
More players have also been promoted into Steve Beaglehole's Development Squad, who themselves have also made a superb start to their own Premier League 2 campaign.
After a few fleeting cameos last season, midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is the latest to make the grade and is now a valued member of Beaglehole's Under-23s squad.
"Kiernan had to really fight to get into the team last season," Peake reveals. "There were players in front of him and his pathway didn't look great, but he kept trying.
"His attitude is spot on but it fell to us to give him reassurance that we recognised his quality. It is very pleasing to see kids like that get on.
"He is another one who is a real model professional."
Last week, City had the unique opportunity to test themselves on a grand stage, in front of a decent crowd at Ibrox, the home of 54-time Scottish champions, Rangers.
Tee (3), Tom Fielding (2) and Shade all scored in Scotland to continue what has been a stellar start to the new season for Peake's starlets with a 6-1 success.
"To play at Ibrox, it is a place with real history," the Under-18s manager continued. "We had a tour of the trophy room which was incredible.
"The first half was really close and ended 1-1. We then managed to get three early goals and we enjoyed the last 30 minutes of the game, which was one of our objectives.
"It was a terrific overall performance."
Next month, Leicester welcome table-toppers Chelsea to Belvoir Drive and, as the current holders of the FA Youth Cup, they will be another stern test of their credentials.
Peake concluded: "We are third in the table. The other team with us, Fulham, have started well too. Chelsea have won five out of five. That's where the real test lies.
"It'll be very interesting to see how we go. We've got to pick up our game even further.
"Individually, we want to get as many as we can into the Under-23s. That's our ultimate aim, as we did last season.
"We may have not done so well last season in terms of results, but we progressed several players on to the next stage of their careers."