After almost three weeks without a competitive fixture Pat Lyons admitted the break has been ‘difficult’ for his Under-23s squad after they headed into the November international break off the back of a fantastic 2-1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur.
“We were in a good place after the Tottenham game where we got a fantastic result and performance away from home to a team that was unbeaten,” said the Senior Professional Development Phase Coach when speaking to RamsTV.
“To have the break has been a little bit of a killer.”
The Under-23s did still have some friendly games throughout the break but Lyons did confess that it is hard to keep his players motivated when there are no competitive fixtures.
“It is difficult to keep motivating the players because they usually always have a game to look forward to or they compete with each other in training for the games,” he said.
“We’ve got another break after the Arsenal game and were going to put another fixture in to keep the lads match fit and ready to go.”
The break did, however, produce some positives for the Under-23s after he mentioned a number of his squad had the opportunity to train with the first team.
Defender, Kornell Macdonald, featured on the bench against Bristol City last weekend and forward, Jack Stretton, was also an unused substitute midweek against Middlesborough.
Lyons said: “It has been great for them and the other day Kornell Macdonald got on the bench because of his performances in training, the staff were saying how well he had done.”
The Under-23s are currently joint top of Premier League 2 Division 1 having won four of their last five games.
Lyons was full of praise for how well his side has performed so far this season, saying: “Winning four out of five is fantastic for the football club and for the players that have been involved.
“I think a lot of clubs are surprised at how well we’ve done. We’ve just got to keep pushing and keep seeing where it can take us.”
Another trip to North London awaits Lyons’ team as they face Arsenal on Friday night (7pm kick-off) in what will be their ninth league game this season.
The Under-23s will be looking to solidify their position at the top of the league and hopefully come away with the three important points.
Words: Louie Barrett
