Youth Cup Preview

Academy Director Huw Jennings looks towards tonight's FA Youth Cup Quarter-Final when the U18s take on Aston Villa at the Cottage...

Like everyone else associated with the Academy I am very much looking forward to Tuesday evening’s game and the prospect of watching the team take to the pitch at Craven Cottage – which will be a first.

It’s an important moment of their development and this really is a fantastic chance for them. Equally important is that the players show what they are capable of. It goes without saying that we want to win, but we also want to see the players use this experience as a way to show their true potential which, in turn, will hopefully produce the desired result.

The FA Youth Cup is a unique competition and one that Academies all over the country take very, very seriously. It’s a terrific opportunity for the boys and that is where it sits with us.

The Club hasn’t had a run in the cup like this for a while, having gone out in the Third Round last year. It’s been a good run and they have played very well and worked extremely hard to get to this point. It has given the Academy a nice momentum.

You can see how much it means to the squad as well and it’s very rare to witness that kind of euphoria in your working life. They will remember this experience for the rest of their football careers.

We are very positive about the match itself also, but we know that we are coming up against a good team in Aston Villa – one that have an excellent record in youth competitions. They have a proven track record when it comes to producing good players and developing good teams, and this one is no different.

So it will be a strong test for us but, make no mistake, we go into this game in confident mood and we know that if we play at our best then we are a match for anybody.

When I joined the Club as Academy Director some 18 months ago I set a series of short and long-term targets. It was certainly one of the short-term hopes to improve the quality of our performances and doing that in the FA Youth Cup has been a vital stage of that process.

What I would add as well, is that if we are to attract the best young players to Fulham we need a strong group and environment in which those players can develop. The better we are as a group, the better the individuals can become.

It’s certainly an exciting time to be part of the Academy and I hope that this will put us on the map in terms of the quality of work that we do here. The support has been fantastic and people have genuinely been interested in our progression. They have identified what we are doing at the Club and it’s a great experience for us all.

Come and support the Young Whites:

Fulham U18s v Aston Villa U18s / E.ON FA Youth Cup Quarter-Final

Craven Cottage (KO 7pm)

Adults: £4
Concessions & Juniors: £1
(pay on the turnstile)