The former Wolves defender, who only took over as under-23s head coach at the start of the season, has looked back on a wonderful season in charge of the club’s development team, as well as what it means to win promotion to Division 1.
On injury-time victory over United to win the league
“It was probably one of the best feelings in 20 years of professional football that I’ve had. It was amazing, I felt so proud of the boys.
“We hadn’t come back from 2-0 down this year, we lost 2-1 at Mansfield being down 2-0, we couldn’t get back into the game against Newcastle, and you worry because you’re up against United who possibly have the best team when all of their players are out playing.
“During those last 25 minutes the lads ran over them and it was one-way traffic. You’re obviously taking a risk because United have some real qualities and are a danger on the break, with quick free-kicks and are clever in their play, but our lads found a way.
“I said it on Friday night, it’s them that deserve all the credit because they believed, and they fought for everything.”
On securing the Premier League 2 Division 2 title
“Obviously, you don’t win the league on the last game, you do it because of the previous 21 games. The lads have been the most consistent team; Southampton and Reading have both ran us very close, and it just came down to goal difference in the end.
“Throughout the whole of the season we’ve had the best goal difference, we’ve been top of the league for most part of the year, so they’ve been up there and have had to deal with the pressure of everyone trying to catch us – sometimes they have, and they’ve had to fought back, but we managed to get back on top.
“To win the final two games, needing us to score late goals to win both of those games shows a lot of character and should give the lads a lot of belief going forwards.”
On the under-23s’ 2018/19 season
“I think it’s been pretty successful. We’ve had five players making debuts in the cup games, we’ve had two or three lads get on the bench in the matchday squad in the Premier League, and first and foremost that must be the remit.
“There’s been a good core group of players who’ve trained constantly in and around the first-team group for large parts of the week, throughout every week of the season, which has been really good for their development.
“This has then culminated in us as a group and the lads being able to win the league, which has been a great way to finish the domestic season.
“There are still a couple of games left for the first-team, which we have to be prepared for, and we’ve got to a tour away in Hong Kong, so the season’s not over yet, but it’s been more than a good year.”
