Fulham assistant manager Steve Kean has praised the role the club’s academy graduates have played in pre-season after a number of encouraging performances from youngsters during the friendly win over Torquay United.
Kean, a former academy manager before being promoted to Chris Coleman’s number two, told the club’s official website:
“The young guys came in for the Torquay match and they’re probably being talked about more than the professionals because no one’s heard of them before. They did well in stepping up to the same level at the first team regulars. I think it was a big step for some of the players but having so many of the boys playing in the reserves last season meant that the step up became a little smaller. If they come into a first team environment on their own it can be a bit daunting – but with three or four of them there, they don’t feel as much individual pressure.
The two teams we fielded for the Torquay match were quite evenly balanced in terms of experience. Playing in front of a crowd, albeit a small one, helped to set them up for the Celtic game. By balancing the teams in this way we’re opening up a lot more options later on in the season. For example, if we’ve got Sean Davis playing with Zesh Rehman – we’ve introduced another player to the first team and he’s now in the mix for the season. As the pre-season programme comes to an end Chris will start to finalise the team for the first match of the season. It’s important that everyone knows that they’re all on an equal footing in that respect.
The training staff believe they’re good enough to be on the pitch and they’ve got the belief of the senior professionals but the bottom line is you’ll never know if they’re going to be truly ready. They’ve got to be introduced at some stage and it’s better in a friendly than any other type of competition. Even though the Celtic match will have more spectators than an average League Cup match, it’s still going to be a good time to blood the players. We’ll have to see what their reaction will be to a crowd.”