Ruth: We need to embrace tough run of games

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Luke Nicoli

2025-10-27T09:15+00:00

Shannon Ruth's MU21s are back in action on Tuesday at Luton Town in the Vertu Trophy. 📷Simon Roe

Men’s under-21 head coach Shannon Ruth took positives from his side’s second-half performance against Premier League 2 table-toppers Ipswich Town.

Albion went into the game missing a number of regular starters and found themselves 3-0 at half-time. However, a spirited second-half display resulted in a goal for Ben Barclay and the game ended with five Seagulls scholars on the pitch.

“The first half was really difficult against a strong Ipswich side,” Ruth reflected. “There are some players who are on the fringes of their first team so it was a good test for us.

“The early goal didn’t help and we then found it hard to recover. If I’m honest, the 3-0 scoreline at half-time was a fair one and the challenge then for the players was to try to regain some sort of identity in the game, not concede anymore and see where that would take us.

“I have to say that the team reacted well in the second half and while I never thought we deserved to draw or win the game, the players’ reaction was a positive one. All in all it was a tough lesson but a good one.”

Ben Barclay gets Albion's consolation goal against Ipswich Town on Friday. 📷Simon Roe.

Albion were missing the likes of Harry Howell, Nehemiah Oriola, Josh Robertson, Charlie Tasker and goalkeeper Nils Ramming. Yet far from using that as an excuse, Ruth is embracing the challenge as the club looks to produce first-team ready players.

“If you look at Ipswich, their team hasn’t changed since game one and they only get stronger with the first-team players that do drop in, whereas part of our model is to keep stretching young players; to have players in and around our first team or players going out on loan. Therefore, what we have seen since I’ve been in this role is a team that evolves constantly and that looks different from week to week.

“I always say that if our team is top of PL2 we’re probably doing something wrong because it means that the players and the team are not getting the stretch that they need. The last two or three games have been a stretch but in our eyes it’s been a good stretch.”

The group are currently in the middle of a tough fortnight run of away fixtures, taking in the length and breadth of the country – and that’s another factor Ruth takes into consideration when assessing the overall performance of his side.

“Last Tuesday we were in Truro; we got back home on Wednesday, then were on the coach Thursday for Ipswich. We have Luton away on Tuesday, then it’s Leeds away on the Sunday followed by a trip to Cambridge.

“Some of these lads are experiencing trips like these for the very first time and are still adapting, so there’s room for error. However, a run of games like this could represent an EFL games programme for them so we’re just trying to recreate that, while supporting them and taking the positives where we can.

“It’s a tough run of games but as a group we’ll embrace that and keep pushing to react well.”