Ruth: Opportunity knocks for under-21s

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Men's under-21s are back in Premier League 2 action on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion.

2024-08-24T05:00+01:00

Shannon Ruth is urging his under-21s to seize every opportunity they get this season. Photo: Paul Hazlewood

Shannon Ruth says his under-21 players can only benefit from the different opponents they will face this season.

His team play their third game in eight days on Saturday when they travel to West Bromwich Albion for their first away match in this season’s Premier League 2.

It comes a few days after they began their Bristol Street Motors Trophy campaign with a creditable 2-2 draw at League One Crawley.

He said, “The intention again this year is to progress to the knockout stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, but also to give as many players, some with a bit more experience and some youngsters, an opportunity in a really competitive environment.

“We really believe that it's an important competition for youth development because it does give the players is that real taste of senior football. Premier League 2 is different in many ways but it’s also an opportunity to impress.

“The more games we play the more opportunities there are for players to practice all the things they need to work on in their own individual journeys.”

Albion lost narrowly 1-0 to West Ham United in PL2 last Friday and will be hoping to bounce back against a West Brom team beaten 6-1 by Norwich City in their first league game a week ago.