Tranmere Rovers youth team manager Andy Parkinson was delighted with his side’s performance as they recorded their first league win of the season, triumphing 3-0 away at Carlisle United.
Parkinson said: “It’s not been for a lack of application and them wanting to achieve and wanting to work. It’s just been a little bit misguided at times so far this season.
“They haven’t really had much luck and decisive moments in the games so far this season have gone against them, whereas on Saturday we made a couple of tactical changes just to give the players a little bit more of a foothold in the game.
“We altered the playing philosophy slightly so we stripped it right back for the players and gave them a little bit less to think about, and to their credit they followed the game plan perfectly well.”
He added: “We got the goals at the right time and got the first clean sheet they’ve had this season. We restricted Carlisle to very few entries into our final third so I was really pleased for the players, we played a different formation and they dealt with it really well. ”
Parkinson is hopeful this positive result can be the start of a good run for the team, but development is still top on his list of priorities.
“Hopefully it will give the players a bit of a foothold now for the season going forward. I mention every week that our primary focus is not results with the youth team; it’s about developing the players and for them to develop individually.
“We want them to have a successful environment to develop in and for it to be competitive come game day.”
Piece written by Joe Sargent.