Richard Walker was ‘immensely proud’ of his players who fell just short against Chelsea in the U17 Premier League Cup final at Molineux.
The Blues took home the trophy following a 3-1 victory on Thursday evening, but head coach Walker had nothing but praise for his group and has commended their courage to play and the commitment shown throughout the 90 minutes.
On being proud of his team
“Immensely proud. Going into the evening, the lads have given a fantastic effort getting here.
“I felt, tonight, they put on a good performance. We played really well, but the margins are fine at this level.
“We came up against a good Chelsea side and congratulations to Chelsea. They were ruthless when they got little half chances, they put us to the sword and that’s what good teams do.
“In terms of our boys, as a football club, we can be immensely proud of them. I thought they had courage to play, showed really good work ethic, commitment and togetherness.
“As much as we didn’t come away with the trophy tonight, there will be massive lessons learnt in terms of taking confidence that they can compete at this level.
“We’re disappointed not to lift the trophy, but immensely proud of the players. I thought they put in a good performance.”
On the timing of the goals
“The first one coming before half-time isn’t a nice time for it to happen. In some respects, it meant the pressure was in their dressing room.
“They went out in the second half and had something to hold onto. We could maybe take the handbrake off a little bit more.
“We came out in the second half and I thought we came out like a steam train for the first five minutes and got level in the game.
“The lads responded well because it is a tough time to concede. Again, they showed the character that we always know they will.”
On reaching the final and seeing improvement
“To get through this tournament, it’s all category one clubs. The first game of this competition we go away to Manchester United and we beat them 2-0.
“If you lose that or drop points there, you’re pretty much out the competition. We didn’t, we took them on and beat arguably the biggest club in the world.
“We then topped that group with Blackburn and Everton, put Leicester to the sword, came through a hard-fought game with Stoke, so they’ve done really well to get here.
“You add that to what they’re doing in the league and it’s a fantastic achievement.
“The biggest part for me is I’m seeing the improvement in the players. Everyone is showing real improvements. For sure, some will have been better than others tonight, but the players are improving.
“That’s testament to them and how hard they work, but also for the staff and for the team we’ve got at the academy who keep pushing them, supporting them and challenging them in the right way to make the progress that they’re making.”
