Matt Taylor wary of well-drilled Wigan

Under-18s Coach Matt Taylor is expecting a very tough test for his side on Wednesday night as we take on Wigan Athletic’s youngsters in the FA Youth Cup fourth round (kick-off 7pm).

Having knocked out holders Liverpool with an impressive 4-2 victory in the previous stage of the competition, Matt’s team will now head north to the DW Stadium to face a Latics side who have been in sublime form so far this campaign.

Currently top of the Under-18 Professional Development League - the second tier of youth football - and leading by an eight-point margin, Wigan are on a run of 11 back-to-back wins, scoring 44 goals in that time. They progressed to the fourth round with an 8-1 win over Croydon.

Matt is well aware that we will be in for a challenging evening, but he is hopeful that we can produce a fitting performance on the road to earn ourselves a place in the hat for the fifth round.

“It’s going to be a really good test for us because we’re coming up against a team who are doing really well in their league, they’re top by a considerable amount of points, they’re in a real rich vein of form and it's obviously at their stadium,” he explained.

“Of course, you have to respect the opposition and we will most certainly do that, but with games of this magnitude it’s got to be about us, it’s got to be about focussing on the boys, on how we’re hoping to approach the game and our game plan. We are fully aware that the opposition are a considerable threat so we will give them the respect they deserve, however I expect our boys to go out there and put in a performance.

“We’re in development football so ultimately this is another opportunity for us to go and experience something different, a different atmosphere, to have to get on the bus, travel the night before and be part of the whole experience but ultimately it's the result that matters and we’re obviously going to do all we can to try to win the game.

“Our boys are starting to perform better but the main thing for me is consistency because I think football is so relentless at whatever level you play at, you must make sure that you perform week in, week out. It’s going to be a tough game for us. Having had a look at the opposition, they definitely know their game plan so it’s now up to us to go up there and withstand the battle and then we can hopefully come away with a positive result.”

We go into the tie off the back of a fine 4-1 home league win over Fulham on Saturday. Follow us on Twitter @SpursOfficial for live match updates from the DW Stadium.