Mark Beard continues to be impressed by the approach and character the under-18s have shown as his players head into a two-week break.
“Every day they work as hard as they can, they give everything and in matches they have been brilliant. It would have been nice to get a point on Saturday against Crystal Palace, but it’s not the sole focus of what we do.
“They have shown loads of character and learned a lot in the last four or five months. We have got plenty of challenges ahead, across many different competitions.
“The hardest thing for us is keeping them happy because we have got quite a big squad. Nobody is happy if they don't play, but as a group they have been different class and they have all played their part so far.
“They need their rest and to recharge their batteries over the coming weeks because the intensity and the level we demand from them every day is really high.”
Although they finished 2020 with a 2-1 defeat to Palace - Zak Emmerson grabbing Albion's goal from the penalty spot - Beard believes they can learn a lot from the match, after the Eagles set up to frustrate Albion.
“It's a part of their education, learning what to do when a team changes its style against you. We had a lot of pace on the pitch so we changed it to be a bit more technical and break them down because there was no space to play in behind.
“They were pressing hard in the middle of the pitch, but they allowed us to have it at the back and the boys got a little bit frustrated with that. We should have got something from the game – it was fairly even all the way through.
“We just needed to be a little bit more clinical and we could have been defensively a little bit better for their goals. We had chances, with the last kick of the game we should have scored.
“Fair play to Palace though, they had a game plan, executed it and you could see how pleased they were at the final whistle.”
Albion will travel to Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Youth Cup on a date to be confirmed.