Wolves 1-3 Chelsea – James McPike: “We had a good go, and we are proud of the lads.”

Our Reuben Clarke reports from Molineux.

Following on from Wolves U17’s 3-1 defeat to Chelsea U17’s at Molineux, assistant manager James McPike feels that his side performed well in front of a large crowd in a high-pressure game.

On the team’s performance tonight, McPike told the media: “We definitely had some good chances first half, started off on the front foot.

“We was unfortunately unable to finish them off in important moments.”

When questioned about the importance of playing in large-scale venues for the development of the players, McPike feels that it is important for them to climatize them to that pressure: “It’s massive [for players to play at big stadiums].

“One of these games at a venue like Molineux is like 10-20 league games, and it’s important to see if they can psychologically handle the pressure of the environment and under the lights in front of a crowd.”

When questioned on the injury sustained by Fraser Harper, McPike admitted he had not had a chance to speak to the medical team yet but praised his commitment: “No I think the medical team have had a good look at [Fraser Harper]. Took a knock early on and was able to soldier through.”

Captain for the U17’s Hayden Carson also joined his coach for questions, and when asked on what he felt cost his side tonight, he believes that a lack of belief contributed to the defeat at Molineux: “I don’t think there was enough belief. We had enough to win the game, good spells of possession, but not enough belief in final third to get back in the game.”

When questioned on his feelings about leading the U17’s, Carson believes it is the highest privilege he can have at this early stage of his career: “Definitely proud and a massive privilege to play with this group.

“We give it our all, I’m so proud of them for how far we’ve come. Massive achievement for me, the lads, and our families [reaching the final].”

Going into the next game McPike feels that there will be elements of the game that the side will need to improve on quickly ahead of the quick turnaround to the league:

“We’ll watch [the game] back and we’ll pick it apart and see where we can support the lads for the next game. There will be plenty to bring into the next set of games.”