After three successive draws in Premier League 2, the young Reds are hoping to get their first win of 2018-19 when West Ham United visit Kirkby in front of the live LFCTV cameras on Sunday (kick-off 1pm BST).
Ahead of the match, we got Critchley’s thoughts on the U23s’ form in front of goal, facing West Ham and playing regularly at the new-look Academy.
On drawing the first three games at the start of 2018-19…
I think our performances so far have not been backed up by our points return. It has been a fine line in all of the games but what’s pleasing is we haven’t lost any of them and we haven’t conceded many goals. We have just been lacking in the final bit, which is finishing our chances.
On why he is confident that the goals will start to flow from his team…
I would be more worried if we weren’t creating chances and it didn’t look like we were going to score goals. I think sooner or later with the amount of opportunities we are creating we are going to take one or two of them with the quality of players that we have got. We are trying not to overly concern ourselves too much with that at the moment, or focus on it too much, because otherwise you are putting unnecessary pressure on the players.
On Liam Millar netting his first goal at U23 level against Manchester City at the Etihad…
You could see with the way he celebrated what that meant to him. He is off and running and as any striker would tell you, goals are really important to them. I think Liam felt that was a bit of a weight off his shoulders and hopefully now he will go on to score many more for us this season.
On why there were many positives to take from the 1-1 draw at City…
I was really proud of our performance on the night. It was a lovely stadium for the lads to play at and the game mirrored our first two games; in terms of chances created we were the better team but just didn’t take them. But I can’t fault the spirit and the effort, the work ethic from the players, which I think has been outstanding in all of the games. You could see us pushing right until the very end of the game to try to get the winner, so I couldn’t have been more pleased with that side of our game.
On the healthy competition for places at U23 level with the likes of Conor Masterson and Tony Gallacher battling hard for a starting berth…
We have a strong squad and it’s something that we are stressing to the players, that they have to get used to that, because they are going into a squad game. Being in and out of the team, fighting for your place, and knowing how to keep your place in the team, and knowing what might get you out of the team – they are really important facets to learn when you are a young player developing. Ultimately you want to get picked in that starting XI and that’s something that we are stressing to the boys quite a lot recently.
On the visit of West Ham United next up in Premier League 2…
West Ham gave us two very tough games last season. We had a win away and they beat us at home. We know it will be a competitive and physical game and we’ll have to be at our best if we want to pick up all three points. If we can keep performing like we have then I think eventually those performances will turn into the wins that have so far eluded us.
On playing at the Kirkby Academy in front of the new stand…
We are looking forward to playing at our home venue. There are a few alterations from last season and, I know I’m biased, but I really like our home venue and think it’s one of the best in the country. The stand which is now in place for the supporters has added something a little bit different. We love playing here on the main front pitch and it’s a great environment for the players to perform.
On the importance of a good start after conceding a goal in the opening three minutes against the Hammers back in February…
The team was vastly changed from the first part of the season when the lads had the chance to go on loan. Curtis Jones played one of his first games at U23 level for us, as did Rafael Camacho, who came off the bench, and Adam Lewis played in midfield with Elijah Dixon-Bonner. After conceding a really sloppy goal early on in the game I actually thought we went on to be the better team but unfortunately we didn’t get what we probably merited. We know West Ham have got some good players, they are strong and powerful and hard to beat.
Watch the U23s take on West Ham at the Kirkby Academy live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO>>>