Craig Short has told Derby County’s Under-23s to relish their busy schedule as they get set to take on Middlesbrough at St George’s Park on Friday night in the Premier League Cup.
The Rams’ next three games all come in different competitions, with Friday’s game followed by a return to Pride Park Stadium against Everton on Tuesday in the Premier League International Cup, before Darren Wassall’s side face Chelsea the following Monday in Premier League 2 – Division One, back at the National Football Centre.
The fixture list comes as a result of Derby’s Category One academy status, and Short believes that the schedule will only help the development of the Rams’ youngsters.
He told RamsTV: “The cups are welcome additions, we’ve got a bigger squad and more players are getting games, the main thing for us is getting players out on the pitch.
“Even when we play an 11 v 11 practice match against the first team, it’s not the same as playing in a competition like this.
“This time last year, we were finding it very difficult, but now we’re relishing it.”
The Under-23s had been on a good run but they were beaten 2-0 by Leicester City last Friday, but despite that, Short has been pleased with the side’s performances in big games and he hopes that can continue as they look to leapfrog Boro in Group A.
He said: “We didn’t have that intensity, but I think that you can see why Leicester have gone so many games unbeaten.
“It was a shock to us, the performance just dropped off a little bit and it was mainly because we couldn’t match Leicester’s physicality.
“I think we’ve come a long way from last season, we’ve come up against some very tough opposition and I think we’ve taken the game to them rather than sitting back and letting them come on to us.
“On our day, we can perform against anyone.”
