First team coach Clint Hill spoke to the media after Fleetwood Town's 3-1 EFL Trophy win over Carlisle United at Brunton Park on Tuesday.
Fleetwood came away with all three points from their first competitive fixture of the campaign, with a goal coming from new-signing Callum Camps and a brace from Harvey Saunders.
Here’s what Clint had to say…
On the match:
“It’s just good to be back, it’s not normality but it’s just good to back and playing football - I thought the lads did very well.
“We asked the senior pros to look after the youngsters and to pass on their knowledge and to pass all that vast experience that they’ve got to get them through the games in certain moments and I thought the young lads did fantastic.”
“It’s our first game. Some lads have had five or six months off so it’s going to be probably ten games into the season before the lads have fitness. The forward runs he makes are very clever, they’re well-timed and we’re just looking for him to add goals to the team.”
On the new players…
“We’ve had really good additions this pre-season – they came in and the lads have welcomed them like they usually do, it’s a good dressing room to come into and it’s up to them now.
“I thought Joel grew in confidence as well, he came and dominated his area and that’s what we’re looking for and Camps is just full of energy and he will get you goals, especially from that midfield area where we probably struggled a little bit next year so all positive signs at the moment.”
On giving young players game time…
“As you can see from the team sheet, we had a young team out. I thought the two young centre-backs kind of grew in confidence as the game went on and put in a very good performance.
“They show loads of potential on the training ground, in the under 23s games but this is where they cut their teeth and they learn from first-team games and they’ve learned a lot today. We’ve always tried to promote youth as much as we can, obviously, we need to strengthen in areas as well.”
Watch Clint's interview and more on our iFollow HERE.