Michael Skubala is confident he can help take his Leeds United Under-21s to the next level, both as a team and individually. Skubala kicked off his reign in charge of the club’s youth team last week as the Whites saw off Derby County 5-2 at Pride Park, thanks to four goals from Mateo Joseph and a debut effort from Sonny Perkins.
The Whites will be back in action on Monday afternoon when they host Norwich City at Thorp Arch and they’ll be keen to build on that impressive opening day display by picking up three more Premier League 2 Division 2 points. Skubala, who was appointed at Elland Road last month, has had almost two weeks working with his promising young side and while he admits things will take time, he’s delighted with what he’s seen so far.
“I love the group already,” he said. “I think they’re an honest group, a hard working group and I think I need to gel them together in a structure that in the way we want to play as a club and a philosophy and an identity but that’s going to take time.
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“We’ll get it right in the under-21s this year and we’ll get it wrong but it’s going to take a bit of time to blend. I’ve been here a week and the staff team, the people behind it they’ve been brilliant as well.
The staff are good, the players are great, it is a great club and probably one of the best feelings for a club I’ve been into over the years. It’s a really good project.
Skubala had been coaching within the FA before taking the Leeds role, working with the national futsal side and England’s under-18s, and he is held in very high regard around the game.
“People know my background, what I bring is holistic development for these players, what they need and how I can support them on the pitch and off the pitch, my role is to support Victor, Jesse and Adam Underwood to really drive this programme on,” he said. “How do we make these players for the first team? I’m trying to win while we do that, I think it’s really important.
“It’s important that we try and get out of the league and it’s important that we try and get these players into the first-team. The intensity and how I like to play as a coach, I think suits the club.”
He added: “Jesse’s been brilliant. He’s humble and really big on culture, he’s a great human being and I think that’s one of the things that attracted me to the club, working with the staff. He’s a great manager and you want to play for him, that’s the most important thing.”
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