Richard Walker says supporters can expect a ‘brave, progressive and controlled’ brand of football from his under-18s on Wednesday evening.
The youngsters host Queens Park Rangers in the third round of the FA Youth Cup at Molineux, with the head coach suggesting that these games ‘are worth maybe 25 or 30 ordinary Saturday league games’ because of the emotion attached to them.
The head coach is aware of the threats opponents QPR pose, but is keen to focus on the performance of his own side following some impressive displays in recent weeks and months.
On the excitement ahead of the game
“I’m really looking forward to it. The Youth Cup is the grand spectacle of the under-18s programme, so it’s something to look forward to.
“The club have done wonders to get us on the Molineux. There are a lot of clubs who maybe don’t work as hard to make that happen at their home stadium.
“It’s pleasing that it’s there and the lads are in a good place and looking forward to it.
On the occasion
“I don’t want to overhype the occasion but it is what it is. It will be the biggest game of the season so far.
“The fact that it’s at Molineux adds to a lot of excitement. There are a lot of Wolves fans within the group, but all of them have watched a lot of games at Molineux.
“It’s a fantastic venue to play football and it’s the home of this football club. The fans know from over the years that the club’s got a good history of developing players, so the fans understand what it’s about.
“Going back to the Joleon Lescott, Lee Naylor, Matt Murray era and then, in recent years, Morgan Gibbs-White, Ryan Giles and so on.
“The fans have got an understanding of what importance the academy and under-18s has on the club as a whole so I know how much they get behind the boys.”
On managing in the Molineux dugout
“I’ve worked in under-18s football for a long time now. I’ve done a lot of stadium games and they always feel a little bit different.
“For me personally, I grew up in the area and have watched over 100 games at the very least at the Molineux.
“To be stood in the dugout will be a really nice occasion and a proud moment for sure.
“I’m looking forward to it, but I’m looking forward to seeing what the team I work with day in day out can go and do and what they can showcase on the best stage at this football club.”
On his team evolving
“At the start of the season we were winning games but in a manner of which wasn’t necessarily pleasing on the eyes as ideally we’d like it to be.
“It was a little bit functional for want of a better word, a little bit pragmatic and less fluid with the football.
“I believe we’ve evolved that where we’ve still got an intensity and resilience to how we go about things out of possession, but with much more control with the much and change of tempo with the ball.
“I believe it’s coming together nicely and hopefully that can continue.”
On building an identity
“When I first came into the role, the first meeting I had when I talked to the players before I talked about any principles of play or any tactical aspects, my first broad statement to them was that I want us to be a team that are fun to play in, fun to watch and horrible to play against.
“I can guarantee the supporters that turn up on the evening will see a group of players that, every single day, work their socks off. I’m confident that will be the case come Wednesday evening.
“In terms of the brand of football, it will be brave, progressive and controlled. Hopefully they can be excited by it.”
On QPR
“They’re a decent side. They’ve got a lot of good technical players, so they pose a threat. They’re attack-minded, the wide players will stay up the pitch and they’ll always have a threat.
“They’ve got a couple of lads who have been around their 21s and they’ve got an athletic group.
“Primarily, the focus in every game that we’ve been in this season has been about us and what we do.
“It’s about us and us executing our game plan to the best of our ability. If we do that, I think we beat most teams. If we fall short, we fall short doing it our way.”
On the experience of playing in these games
“These moments, the games under the lights and in front of the fans are worth maybe 25 or 30 ordinary Saturday league games.
“That’s probably because of the emotion attached to the situation. I think it’s of huge importance.
“I’ll be wanting to win the game on Wednesday, I want to win every game, but I want to win the game. That’s not just to be as successful as we can in the tournament but to give the players as many experiences and what will be perceived as a pressure situation is massive for their development.
“The longer we can go on and the bigger run we can have, the more opportunities they get to play under the lights and hopefully many more at the Molineux.
“If we do have a journey, hopefully we can pick up an increased backing and following along that way.”
