Exeter City under-23 manager Dan Green says his side back themselves to take away a positive result when they take on Norwich City in the Under-23 Premier League Cup on Thursday evening.
The young Grecians will be looking to bounce back from the opening group match as they lost to Nottingham Forest away from home.
Ahead of the match, Dan said: “In terms of the things that go throughout any performance our attitude, work and reactions are going to have to be there. We know Norwich are a good team but with those things as a basis for our performance we back ourselves.”
Dan is also hoping that the current loan moves for some of his under-23 players (Harry Kite, Ben Seymour, Joel Randall, Max Smallcombe and Josh Key) will put his side in a good position ahead of the clash as they are benefiting from playing men’s football regularly.
Dan continued: “It’s great at the moment because the boys have got game time with their loans, but nothing beats getting the group together and playing in this competition.
“A lot of the boys are benefiting in different ways, they’re at different teams under different managers and getting different experiences. The main thing is that they’re getting game time at a competitive level that will hopefully provide various experiences that they need to come back and be first team ready."
On the test that the Canaries will pose at St James Park, Dan is expecting a tough encounter when they welcome their opponents in the 7pm kick-off on Thursday.
He continued: “Up until about a week ago Matt Gill, who played here, was their coach and I know what a good job he’s done with them. Tristan (Abrahams) has come from that group so we know what type of players they like to produce.
“We’re very respectful of the job they do there and the academy that they have got, but as I’ve said, we back our academy and ourselves to be more than a match.”
Matches in the Under-23 Premier League Cup have seen strong crowd numbers at St James Park in recent years, something Dan is keen to see replicated in City’s latest match.
Dan said: “We’ve had a couple of FA Youth Cup runs over the past 18 months and the fans have always been brilliant. It’s something that adds to the experience of the players. If the supporters can turn out again, we will be very grateful.”
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