Academy director Stephen Torpey believes Manchester United's Under-18s will appreciate the support of the entire club, when running out at Old Trafford tonight (Wednesday) to face Sunderland in the FA Youth Cup.
The 19:00 GMT kick-off, live on MUTV, presents a chance for supporters to see the next generation of talent and cheer Darren Fletcher's side on, as we face a tough test against a side that inflicted a rare defeat on the youngsters in the league.
It is a hugely anticipated tie, which must be decided on the night, with Crystal Palace awaiting the victors in the semi-finals.
Since returning to the club as head coach, Michael Carrick has often taken time out to watch the Academy games in person, and travelled down to Oxford United to see our 4-1 triumph in the previous round.
Carrick's senior coaching staff have also been present and there can be no doubt it gives a great lift to the teenagers hoping, one day, to make the step up.
“Look, it's about full club alignment,”
Torpey told MUTV. “If we're going to have a successful Academy and continue to produce players for our first team, the key moment is that transitional moment from the Academy through to the first team.
”And, to make that easier, it's our familiarity. So, if our staff members who are in the first-team space, are constantly watching and regularly watching our youth teams, that is only going to help that transition.
“So, you know, to have Michael and his team present at games is really, really useful,”
he outlined.
“It's really nice for us to see. They get to see the players, the good and bad moments, and really work out who they are early and offer advice, as well, and support to those young boys.
”But the biggest thing really, for me, is that it means that these boys, when they do get that first moment and they do get that first social interaction of football and interaction with that first-team environment, that they just feel more settled and more ready and understanding of what it's going to take.
“Without that first moment, when we all start our new jobs on the first day and you have that, you know, dry mouth and you're not quite sure, hopefully that's going to help them express themselves more in that environment.
“Michael, with myself, with Jason [Wilcox] and the team,”
Torpey continued. “We're fully aligned in terms of the way we want to work, the talent we have in the building and how we want to work with that talent.
”You know, having Travis [Binnion] in that space at the moment as well, in the first team, is also really helpful for our young players because of that familiarity but also because it helps our connection from the Academy to the first team, and vice versa.
“Having that dialogue is really crucial.”
Best of luck to the Under-18s for the game, from everybody at United!