FARRELL WANTS U21s TO LEARN FROM BLADES DEFEAT

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U21s must use loss at Bramall Lane as part of development says Farrell

2023-03-21T17:49:44.653Z

FARRELL WANTS U21s TO LEARN FROM BLADES DEFEAT

U21s must use loss at Bramall Lane as part of development says Farrell

2023-03-21T17:49:44.653Z

U21s must use loss at Bramall Lane as part of development says Farrell

Coach Andy Farrell has urged the U21s to use Tuesday afternoon’s defeat to Sheffield United to their advantage, and wants them to continue gleaning information from their more senior peers.

The Clarets were beaten 4-0 at Bramall Lane by a Blades side who are the runaway leaders in the Northern Section of the Professional Development League, unbeaten since 1st November in league action.

Experienced figures were on show for both sides, and Farrell now asks that the U21s involved use the game to improve.

“We’re always looking to learn. As poor at times as it might’ve looked today, we’ll get some really good clips out of this and – as coaches & players – we’ll get a better understanding of how to implement certain things.

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“At the end of the day, if we’d won this game 2-0 or 3-0 but put in the same performance, people would come off and think it looked good, but the reality is that it wouldn’t have done. It still would’ve looked the same.

“We’re trying to create the understanding that the first-team have around their performances, not just results.

“The only way we’re going to do that within our group is by picking up the way that they play and instilling that into our players. For that reason, these first-team players dropping down remains a great asset for us.

“They’re obviously looking to get fit or to a level where they can go and perform in the last few games of the season, but we’re looking to learn as a group.

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“The boys will naturally be disappointed with what they’ve produced today, but for some it wasn’t for the lack of effort.”

Farrell also praised United for the way that they approached the game. The Blades look all but certain to finish top in the Northern Section and head into the national play-offs come the end of the season.

The Clarets meanwhile remain 4th, three points off the top two in the division.

“I’d imagine they were chomping at the bit to come and play at Bramall Lane, and rather than stepping away from the challenge when they saw our lineup, they very much stepped up to it,” said Farrell.

“Obviously I was disappointed with how we performed, but they set the right tone from the very first minute and the goalkeeper had a big influence on their performance because they played out long from the back.

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“We knew they would do from our analysis pre-game, but we didn’t travel quick enough throughout the game to get ourselves around the second balls from those kicks whereas they did.

“The prime example of the goalkeeper’s influence is on the third goal which comes straight from a goal kick. We miss the header and the striker is in behind in the box to score.”

Burnley now return to action in the PDL next Monday afternoon – 27th March – against Peterborough United at the Burnley Training Centre (3pm KO).