U20s boss Stephen Craigan believes his side are ready to go ahead of tomorrow night’s Development League clash with Celtic.
The young Steelmen travel to the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium in Dumbarton, and the Northern Irishman feels that his side are well prepared.
Speaking to MFC TV, Craigan said: “The boys are fine, we haven’t trained an awful lot since the game the other night but I think it’s important to keep them as fresh as we can.
“We’ve had a couple of meetings, looked at some tactical stuff – just to reaffirm the message that we’re always speaking about both in possession and out of possession.”
He added: “The boys covered a lot of distance the other night, and with GPS you can kind of monitor it a bit better.”
[pullquote]We’ve had a couple of meetings, looked at some tactical stuff – just to reaffirm the message that we’re always speaking about both in possession and out of possession.[/pullquote]
As far as selection for tomorrow night, Craigan admitted he will have to make a few changes.
He said: “There will be a few changes as normal with under 20s, you’re chopping and changing a lot, there’s lads coming in from the first team and lads out on loan.
“Dylan and Tom won’t be involved because of that and factors like that mean you don’t always get the team you would ideally like.
“But we’re ready for the game, we feel well prepared and we’re looking forward to it.”
One of the main things Craigan tries to drill in to the youngsters is the knack of finding consistency in their game, and after the Kilmarnock match on Tuesday night, he admitted that he is still adapting as a coach.
He said: “Having watched Tuesday night’s game back there wasn’t an awful lot wrong really.
[pullquote]Perhaps I could have simplified it for them a bit and matched up with Kilmarnock but there’s things you learn as you go – it’s as much them being consistent as it is me.[/pullquote]
“We changed our shape to play against them and I probably should have changed it again to allow us more width.”
He added: “Because we were playing with a diamond, it meant we lacked that width and couldn’t get many crosses in to the box to cause that threat.
“Perhaps I could have simplified it for them a bit and matched up with Kilmarnock but there’s things you learn as you go – it’s as much them being consistent as it is me.”
With some senior players perhaps set to step in for game time, Craigan admitted they have played a big role in setting an example for the youngsters this season.
He said: “We’ll be expecting some senior players to drop down but I’m not sure who yet.
“It’s important that when the senior players do come in that they perform and set an example and more often than not this season they have done.”