Neil Wood has lauded the work ethic of his Manchester United youngsters after reflecting on the Under-23s' promotion to Premier League 2.
The United Under-23s boss has overseen a dramatic improvement since taking the reins, assisted by former midfielder Quinton Fortune. And he has name-checked Brandon Williams, Ethan Laird, James Garner, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Galbraith and Arnau Puigmal as players who embody the attacking and hard-working spirit of the academy sides.
He believes there are big things to come from those players and the U23s team in general after they were promoted on a points-per-game calculation.
“You saw them all the way through as they came up in the system and it was part of their identity really,” Wood told the United website.
“Brandon especially and Ethan too, they like to defend but love to attack as well. If you can get those two flying up and down, it is some sight to watch them. It’s exciting and we were creating chances.
“It was good to watch but demanding for them and we demand that off them. Sometimes I thought they might be thinking ‘give us a break’ really but they kept going and you’ve seen Brandon has got his rewards and done exceptionally well with the first team. Ethan has also recently been training with the first team as well and I am very pleased with them.
“When you think of the midfielders we had in there, we’d got Jimmy Garner, Dylan Levitt and Ethan Galbraith – a good mix of talent as they have all got different things that complement each other so well.
“At times, Arnau Puigmal pushed into there as well to add something different as he likes to run forward and attack and scored some goals for himself. With the vision, creativity and range of passes, plus the accuracy, that those lads can play, it was a vital component of the team.”
Wood is ensuring Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's philosophy is replicated in the Under-23s and it has brought him success in his first full season in charge.
“I wanted to see the sort of Manchester United traits – really good possession with fast-breaking attacking, creating chances and scoring goals,” Wood added.
“At the same time, being defensively organised and being strong and showing resilience and there is a lot of character in there.
"When I first got offered the job, I was excited. I knew we had an exciting group of young players coming up and I knew I could influence them and get them playing how I wanted them to play.
"I wanted a playing style of the great United teams we’ve seen and that was my challenge and how I wanted to do it. I wanted to do a lot of training with individual development going on in the background, so I am pleased."
