Gombau excited for Vertu Trophy clash

Josep Gombau says he and his team are excited for a new challenge in the form of their Vertu Trophy Round of 32 clash with Blackpool on Tuesday evening (ko 7pm).

Aston Villa Under-21s visit Bloomfield Road in their first knockout phase outing of this season’s competition, having overcome Fleetwood Town and Bolton Wanderers in the group stages.

The Young Lions head coach bills the clash “a massive game” and is looking forward to seeing his players pick up experience from facing another senior EFL side.  

He said: “It’s a massive game – a very nice competition that allows our players to face professional football teams and face men’s football.

“Against a professional team like Blackpool, which is a big club, I think it’s a very big game, a very good game.

“It could bring to us a lot of experience, and we are preparing for the game. I think we are ready, and we are excited to go and play in the stadium.

“We want to try to upset them, and go through.”

Speaking more generally on the competition, Gombau praised the impact it has had on his players, and the benefits it brings for the ‘invited’ academy sides.

“It’s different football to what we face in our league,” he added.

“When you are playing this kind of competition, I think it is a very good competition for the development of the players.

“It was very good for us – I think we [have] played well. Against Bolton, [it] was a very good performance. We were very good, with a very young squad, and we did well. And after that, in the penalty shoot-out, we won.

“It is a good opportunity for the lads to show their potential, and to show they are ready and knocking on the door to play men’s football soon.”

With Villa’s under-21s competing across four different tournaments this season, after progression in the UEFA Youth League last week, Gombau discussed the positives of a hectic fixture schedule at academy level.

He added: “We are playing four different competitions. It is not easy. We are having a lot of games and facing different opposition teams.

“These are challenging, and being footballers, they have to be able to play in short period of times, a lot of games.

“It’s good to play Tuesday, Saturday and Tuesday. It’s something they can face when they make the next step and play professional football. It’s a challenge, but we are taking as experience, also.”

As the midway stage of the season approaches, the clash with the League One Tangerines will represent a final competitive outing for the Young Lions until 2025.

Gombau reflected on his side’s progress so far this season, and how the aim within the academy is always to develop the players.

“Always the same, in academy sides, is the development,” he concluded.

“It’s to try to bring to them these kinds of experiences. Work hard in training sessions to be ready for the games, and try to develop players who one day can be playing at Villa Park.

“How we are working with them [is] to try to help them to make the next step, and to go to the first team or one day maybe go on loan and come back to the club, adding more to the club.

“I am happy with the performance of the team, in terms of everybody is working hard and the players are training hard.

“Also, we are doing a lot of training sessions with the first team – which brings a lot of experience also to our players. I am happy with this.

“Trying to improve the players and the individuals, and hopefully one day they can play for our first team.”