A trio of Nottingham Forest first-team players, as well as boss Steve Cooper, spoke to the Reds’ Under-18s before their FA Youth Cup semi-final.
Joe Worrall, Ryan Yates and Brennan Johnson addressed Warren Joyce’s side in the dressing room before their clash with Chelsea at the City Ground. And the academy graduates sat in the stands to watch as Forest came from behind to win 3-1 in a dramatic final 10 minutes.
James Garner and Scott McKenna also took in the game, as did Cooper. And it will be Garner’s parent club, Manchester United, who the Reds face in the final, at Old Trafford.
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Worrall, Yates and Johnson all have FA Youth Cup experience themselves, but this is the first time Forest have reached the final. The three players reflected on their experiences of the competition with Joyce’s current crop before Monday night’s match.
“They were supported by the first-team players, and the manager as well,” Joyce said. “We got three of the academy boys in - the skipper, Brennan and Yatesy - and they talked to the players before the game about their experiences. The gaffer was in there as well.
“It calms them down, but it also gives a reference point back to when those players were kids and how they felt in this situation. That’s a big help.
“It’s a good environment at the football club at the minute. It’s a family environment. Everyone is pulling together.
“The first-team are flying. The reserves are flying. And it just keeps our season going a little bit longer.
"It gives the boys a taster of what it's like to play for the first-team here. It was a really enjoyable night for them all.
"Going a goal down, against a side like Chelsea, they could have just given up and accepted defeat. But they don't know how to do that.
"We've worked hard from the start of the season. They've progressed from the start of the season.
"We're definitely the youngest team in the tournament - from the start, not just in this game. And we've got eight or nine Nottingham boys in the starting team, and more on the bench, who are desperate for the club to do well. They support the club, so it's massive for them.”
