Our men’s under-21s captain Jack Spong believes he and his teammates have found another level under Shannon Ruth.
Ruth was appointed to the role of under-21s head coach in September, after Andrew Crofts made the step up from the academy role to first team coach under Roberto De Zerbi.
Ruth joined the club in September 2016 and his longevity has played a part in his success according to Jack.
“Everyone is on the same page working under Shannon, I would say the levels have gone up in training even more under him. The games have been different, we’re not just playing Premier League 2 football, we’re competing in three cup competitions as well, it’s been good for us.
“We’ve had to show character in different ways, we’ve come from behind and we’ve had to see out results.
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“Nothing has changed too much because Shan has been a big part of the setup for a long time and we all know what he wants, which we’re all trying to deliver.”
The under-21s have several irons in the fire as they compete in four competitions: Premier League 2, the Premier League Cup, the Premier League International Cup and the Sussex Senior Cup.
Premier League Cup action is up next, as they face Bournemouth on Saturday.
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“The whole team have enjoyed the cup competitions,” Spong reflected. “You want to try and win something, there’s no guarantee of winning trophies during your career.
“Sometimes people don’t think of youth cup competitions as very big, but then you see the impact winning it can have, like the under-17s winning the Premier League Cup last year, it’s massive. The players involved still talk about it.
“We won the Sussex Senior Cup (last year). Everyone was really buzzing to win it, and Shan has got into us about taking it seriously because we know what can happen if we don’t.”