Aston Villa’s Under-21s kick off their Premier League 2 playoff campaign tonight against Southampton at 7pm.
- Jimmy Shan’s Young Lions travel to Staplewood training centre for a straight knockout tie
- Southampton were beaten finalists in last year’s PL2 play-offs: a formidable opponent
- The winners face either Manchester City or Arsenal in a home quarter-final
- Shan described this week’s preparation as significantly different to a normal PL2 fixture
Shan’s assessment as Southampton are no easy task
Jimmy Shan was characteristically thorough in his pre-match assessment of tonight’s opponents.
The Under-21 Head Coach has clearly invested significant preparation time into analysing a Southampton side he has enormous respect for, and his words reflect a coaching staff taking the knockout stage with the seriousness it deserves.
“They got to the final last year, they’ve got a good way of doing things; a good style of play, good brand of play, very consistent,” Shan told VillaTV.
“They produce players, they’ve got good players, so we’ve been fortunate to go back over three to four of their most recent games and look at them. They’re a good outfit and they will definitely cause us some problems.”
An analytical rigour, studying multiple recent fixtures before a youth team playoff tie, that reflects the standards Emery’s coaching structure demands at every level of the club.
Furthermore, the specific mention of Southampton’s player development record carries additional resonance given Villa’s own academy production in recent seasons.
A different kind of preparation for the playoff
Shan was open about the shift in approach this week’s knockout game has demanded compared to a standard Premier League 2 fixture.
The stakes, the preparation, and the mindset have all been adjusted accordingly.
“It’s probably been a little bit different to prepping normally for PL2 games,” he acknowledged.
“Obviously it’s a knockout stage, a knockout game, and we’ve heavily invested into the gameplan.”
That investment reflects a coaching team that understands the opportunity in front of them, a home quarter-final against Manchester City or Arsenal awaiting the winners of tonight’s tie.
A productive season: building toward the playoff stage
Shan also reflected honestly on what has been an encouraging but challenging debut season at the helm.
Operating within a restructured 29-team league format, with only 20 fixtures played across the campaign adapting tactically and developmentally has required patience and flexibility.
“Our main goal this season was to be competitive and finish in the top 16,” the Under-21 boss explained. “A club with our investment, to finish outside of the top 16 would be very disappointing. I think we’ve been competitive and there’s been lots of positive development during the course of the season.”
With multiple young players attracting first-team attention this season, tonight represents another opportunity for Villa’s next generation to make their case. Kick-off at Staplewood is 7pm.
