Franklyn, what a moment for the young lads! A chance to feature for the first team today, against Bridsport. How does this make you feel as a coach?
It’s a good opportunity for them. Bridport play in a very competitive and physical league, so it may be the first time some of our players play against this kind of opposition. Our setup is all about development and putting them in these tough situations, which will allow everyone to grow as both an individual and part of the team.
Leading on from what you’ve said, we spoke last time about the importance of creating a competitive environment to help get the players to the next level. By having the chance to perform as part of the senior team, how much will experience in these games allow them to do that?
It’s something that they will only benefit from. Our friendly against Dorchester Sports a couple of weeks back, today’s friendly, and our upcoming fixtures was part of our whole pre-season plan. We’re playing against teams that will give us a challenge, perhaps a different challenge to what we might face in the league, but where the lads can see what the standards are like at other clubs.
Mark Molesley has told us he “wants tough” for his senior players. It appears that you have the same approach with our young squad.
I think so, but it’s also about understanding that form and consistency will be up and down, and that that’s what comes with being a young side. It’s all part of the development process, so it’s important that we’re patient with the players.
How are the players feeling ahead of today’s game?
They’re really looking forward to it. The application in training has been fantastic; it’s just a case of trying to replicate that today.
Patience, as you’ve said, is key, yet we’ve already seen a number of our youngsters feature in the first-team pre-season friendlies, with performances that have been met with praise from Mark. It must be pleasing to see several of your players adapting well in a new environment.
Definitely. To have good feedback from Mark is not just great for me, it’s great for the lads. The experience, the information, the intensity, everything from that first-team environment will benefit them. Hopefully they can use it as a positive experience and push themselves forward!
Being their head coach, how do you prepare them for these sorts of games? Any advice?
I just tell them to go out and play without fear. Just play the game without pressure, whilst being tactically aware. Matt and I, of course, will set them up, with tactics, but there will be times they will need to change their setup during a game.
Now, whether that involves being ahead in a game and seeing it out, or chasing a game and playing more expansively, it will be good for the lads to learn to implement in their matches.
After today’s game, where do we go from here? What’s next for these players?
We’ll be continuing with the great training sessions we’ve already been doing, whilst looking forward to our next pre-season game against Balti Sports. We’ll also be looking back on the games we’ve played so far, analysing what went well and what we need to improve on. It’s all about moving forward.
