Ruth relishes packed schedule

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Our MU21s are back in action again on Saturday.

2024-12-07T13:00+00:00

Shannon Ruth will make changes for Saturday's game against Burnley. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Men's under-21 coach Shannon Ruth likens his squad's current schedule to that of a Championship club, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Albion are back in action on Saturday when they entertain Burnley in the Premier League Cup (4pm) and getting used to busy schedules is all part of the development process for his players.

It will be their third game in seven days in a different competition and one they need to win to keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.

Ruth said: "We are in a hell of a run of games and this type of fixture congestion is a bit like the Championship so it's good for players to experience two and three-game weeks and to keep producing performances. It's a good lesson for the players and an important part of their development.

"We will make some changes on Saturday, freshen it up and give players who have been working hard behind the scenes an opportunity.

"We have a competitive group with a lot of hunger and it will be good to give them the chance to help us get out of the group. Burnley beat us at their place so we know it will be a tough game."

Albion will be looking to bounce back from what was their second defeat in 11 games on Wednesday when they lost 2-1 to Maidenhead in the National League Cup. "The players tried hard but the two goals we conceded gave us too much to do," reflected Ruth.

"Maidenhead made it hard but after good work at Woking and Aldershot in our previous matches in the competition to lose a game we felt we shouldn't have lost was disappointing."