Leeds United's U23s' manager Mark Jackson has expressed his excitement ahead of Tuesday evenings Papa Johns Trophy clash against League Two Tranmere Rovers.
The competition has undergone a rebranding phase in recent years which has allowed 16 category 1 Premier League and EFL Championship under-21 sides to enter the group stages.
And many youth team managers have seen the changes serve as a benefit to many of their players as they are now able to test themselves against experienced pros, something Jackson echoed in his pre-match comments to the Leeds United website ahead of Tuesday's clash.
“It's going to be another proper game of football," said Jackson.
“We'll be looking forward to it. The boys like playing and the games keep coming thick and fast now but it's football and you like to play, so that's what they're here for.
“We've got to prepare the lads for it, it’ll be a tough ask again. It's another challenge for the boys and like I always say, it's good to have different challenges.”
Both Leeds' under-18s and the under-23s sides have started their season's in relatively strong fashion, with both sides sitting fifth and sixth in their respective divisions.
And Jackson sees both sides' strong starts as determination for his young Whites to better last season's performances in the competition after they limped out of the Group Stages after they managed to pick up one point from their three games against Barrow, Accrington Stanley and Blackpool.
“We'll be ready for it.
"We want to compete and we want to go one step further in the competition this year and try to qualify from the group stages.
“That's our aim as a group of players and as a club. That's what we want to do.
“We'll go give it a good go and hopefully we can give a good performance.”
The Whites will face Oldham and Salford in the remaining Group B fixtures.
