City boss Steven Pressley wants more trust to be shown in Academy players...
Coventry City manager Steven Pressley wants more trust to be shown in Academy products as he side prepare to face Brentford.
With Jordan Stewart suspended and Blair Adams out injured, Academy left-back Ryan Haynes could feature at the Ricoh Arena against the Bees.
Academy products Cyrus Christie, Callum Wilson and Jordan Clarke have all played under Pressley but he wants more trust to be shown in youngsters.
Pressley said: “We have a situation this weekend where Jordan Stewart is suspended but the loss of him may give young Ryan Haynes a chance.
“That’s why we have a youth Academy and develop our own players. We should never be frightened to play them because if we think they’re ready, you must trust them.
“We’ve won our last three Under-21’s games and there is a real hunger about the youngsters coming through the system.
“We beat a very good Wigan side but not just that, the performance was outstanding. I could see parts of the philosophy coming through in their play and I am really excited by what we have coming through.
“All the top clubs develop their own talent and have Academy players coming through into the first team. To become a top club, we need to show trust in our Academy.”
Brentford are currently 3rd in the League One table, still in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot.
Pressley is expecting a tough test and will use the remaining four games to analyse what players can bring the club forward.
He added: “There are plenty of difficult games at the moment and we need to make sure we keep up our performance levels until the end of the season.
“Brentford have a lot of strengths but our home form has improved recently and the players should have plenty of confidence.
“We have to impose ourselves on the game and make sure we improve in the final third. Our passing and pressing game has improved but we are far from the finished article.
“There is a lot of improvement to go with the side. With the players, there are a few players out of contract at the end of the season so everyone will want to perform.
“Over the next four games, I am going to analyse what players at this football club are the players to take the club forward whilst expecting to get results.”