Justin Walker is looking forward to another challenging test for his Derby County Under-18s side, as they take on Norwich City in Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup on Friday evening.
The Rams reached this stage of the competition after defeating 10-time cup winners Manchester United last month, winning 3-1 in the penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw after extra time.
Norwich have won the competition on two occasions, in 1983 and 2013. The Canaries are currently tenth in the Premier League – South table.
They beat Barnsley 4-1 to reach the Fourth Round and Walker believes that the former winners will be a great match for his side.
He told dcfc.co.uk: “I’m really looking forward to it; there is a great spirit in the camp and there has been since July.
“We have got some really good characters and personalities in the group and they are striving to improve every day, so they are looking forward to the game.
“Norwich have got a great reputation and they won the competition in 2013. They pride themselves on having good young players and it has proved over previous years what they produced from their academy.
“It is going to be a tough game for us and they are one of the teams you are going to have to beat if you want to progress. They are going to give us a good game on Friday night.”
The tie will be hosted at Carrow Road, the home stadium of Norwich’s first team.
After beating Manchester United at Pride Park in the third round, Walker feels that gaining more experience at stadiums is crucial for his sides’ development.
“It is going to be another fantastic experience for our young players to play in a stadium and in that environment where there is a crowd”, said Walker.
“It’s a must win game and there is so many variables that they going to learn about themselves and that we are going to learn about them more importantly and see what character they do have.”
In their most recent match on Saturday, Derby suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Everton at the Training Centre in partnership with the University of Derby.
The loss ended their 11-match unbeaten streak, which they had been on since September.
Walker described how the performances that his side have produced over the last few months shows promising signs for the players’ future development.
He said: “All the best teams want to start another run and that’s the aim for every team, it was going to end at some point, it does for every team.
“But I think the most important thing is that we focussed on is, what are the individuals in our team doing and how are they progressing and where is the next challenge? How can we challenge them to improve?
“We’ve got a lot of players who are out on loan and other clubs are looking at our players and seeing what they can offer and looking to acquire their services, so the players are doing something right and they are showing the right signs; it bodes well for the future.”
Words by Jonty Colman