Under-23 head coach Rob Edwards will be joined by his under-18 counterpart Darren Ryan at Hereford’s Edgar Street, while assistant managers Sean Parrish and Steve Davis will be leading the team at Aggborough.
Edwards is hoping the matches will give the young players a competitive outing against senior opposition.
On a ‘valuable’ ten days in Spain
“It was a good ten days away with the lads, and we got some good work in. The first four days were very tough because we had double sessions each day which made it difficult in the heat, but time trip was really valuable as it gave us a chance to have everyone together.
“Once the matches started to kick, this allowed the players to get some game time under their belts and put the work on the training pitch into practice.
“Pre-season for us is always a little bit different as there’s a lot of chopping and changing within the group – last week we had one or two trialists in – but the quality of the games were good and the quality of the opposition were very good.
“Murcia was a tough test and then Villarreal was an even tougher one; they were very good. I thought they shaded it, but after the first ten minutes we grew into the game and made it a pretty good contest.
“Both teams made changes in the second-half, and when teams make a lot of changes it kills a bit of the flow and rhythm of the game, but they were really valuable.”
On Kidderminster and Hereford tests
“The players and the staff had a day off yesterday after arriving back on Monday, but we are back at it this afternoon with some light training before we split the group into two teams, with one off to Kidderminster and one off to Hereford.
“The teams will be a mixture of under-23s and under-18s, while they will also be a couple of senior players who have returned back from their loans last season, such as Jordan Graham, Connor Johnson and maybe Harry Burgoyne, who might also get some minutes as well.”
On aims for pre-season fixtures
“We want to try and arrange pre-season around the games and get good fixtures in to give us different types of test – obviously Villarreal posed us a test, and Kidderminster and Hereford tonight will pose something else.
“It’s important that the players experience different challenges and tests, and we will be looking at them to impress us this evening, and they’ll also be other people watching, because there are still a few lads who will be playing in both teams tonight who we’re trying to get out on loan.
“It’s an opportunity for them to impress against tough, senior opposition but still implement what we want from them in our system.”
The friendly against Kidderminster Harriers at Aggborough kicks-off at 7.30pm this evening. U16s can enter for just £1, while adult and concession tickets are available for £10 and £6 respectively.
The fixture against Hereford kicks-off at 7.45pm tonight, with tickets available at Edgar Street, beginning at just £2 for U16s.
Under-23s' pre-season schedule
W 2-1 | Saturday 6th July, 1pm | AFC Wulfrunians (A)
W 6-1 | Wednesday 10th July, 7.30pm | Hednesford Town (A)
L 1-0 | Thursday 18th July, 6pm | Real Murcia B (A)
L 1-0 | Sunday 21st July, 6pm | Villarreal CF B (A)
Wednesday 24th July, 7.30pm | Kidderminster Harriers (A)
Wednesday 24th July, 7.45pm | Hereford (A)
Monday 29th July, 4pm | Swansea City (A)
Wednesday 31st July, TBC | Celtic (A)
