Wolves under-19s have only been in India for little over 48 hours, but head coach James Collins and his players are already getting stuck in.
Having clinically dispatched of Everton in their opening group game on Wednesday evening, the team have been getting their first glimpses of the culture in Mumbai. Collins has spoken highly of the people and the welcome the Old Gold have received, and is looking forward to taking in the cultural activities organised by the Premier League in the coming days. Alongside their schedule on the pitch, the youngsters will be maximising their time in Asia with off-field events and Collins says this lifetime opportunity will open the eyes of his players.
On the experience in India so far
“Wow, what a different experience. I’m 45 this year and I’ve never been to this part of the world.
“It’s an incredible place with wonderful people - they’re kind and caring. The roads are what amazes me, there don’t seem to be any rules which has been the biggest shock.
“There are little kids walking across the road without any assistance and in England it’s a bit different.
“We’ll see some of the culture which, again, the boys need to see things like that. These are the things that open your eyes to life in other parts of the world.
“These boys get it easy at times. They get treated like superstars and they’re not superstars. At some point, a lot of them will have to go out into the real world and face up to it – these are great cultural experiences for that.”
On taking in the culture
“We want to go to the IPL – we know that’s a big deal and it’s a big deal in England too. My father’s a big cricket fan so he’ll be jealous and we want to go there on the weekend.
“It’s something that excites us and the Premier League have been very good at organising a Bollywood movie tonight which will be different for us. It will be nice to experience the culture and we'll try in our day breaks to get as much of the culture as we can.
“That’s part of the experience for us. It’s not just about the football – we’re trying to make the players more understanding of the world and other cultures which are very different to ours.”
On the win against Everton
“I thought we started the game really well. When you come away in a tournament it’s important to start fast and well.
“We scored from a set-piece which is pleasing because it’s something we’ve worked on and that allowed us to settle into the game.
“From that moment on, I thought we dominated the game. It was a slightly slower paced game because of the heat and that allowed us a bit more space to do our work which was nice.
“In the second half we really ran away with it a little bit and won comfortably in the end, which is always pleasing to start the tournament well.”
On facing different opponents
“We knew Everton really well. From now on, we don’t know the opponents really well so it’ll be a test for us and a different challenge.
“We’ll take each game as it comes and show respect for each opponent. You come to a tournament to try and do well – that’s the challenge for us.
“It will be a very different test on the astro turf surface at 4pm in the afternoon for us on Saturday, but it will be great to see who can get through that and who struggles. It’s one of the reasons why we came across the world for this tournament.”
On playing in the hot conditions
“It’s not an excuse - It’s easy for us to come here and it be an excuse for us. It’s hot and we’re not used to it.
“Even tonight the boys were struggling to catch their breath a little bit, but that’s the challenge if they want to play world and European football. You have to come to different parts of the world where it’s hot.
“On day one I let them say ‘it’s hot’ and I said at the end of day one, that’s it – no one says it’s hot.
“Don’t get me wrong, maybe during the next game at 4pm they will be saying it, but we’re trying to not use that as a reason not to do well because they’ve got to learn to adapt.
“Our first-team go to South Korea in pre-season and I imagine that’ll be pretty hot. If one of ours gets an opportunity to go with them, they can’t use that as an excuse – they’ve got to go and shine and flourish.”
