Nile John’s FA Youth Cup message: ‘We all need to do a job and a half’
Tue 30 March 2021, 20:42|
Tottenham Hotspur
Nile John has underlined the importance of focus as our Under-18s prepare to take on AFC Wimbledon in the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday evening (6pm).
With the prestigious youth tournament back up and running after being temporarily suspended earlier in the year due to the pandemic, we make our first visit to the new Plough Lane for a tricky fourth round test against a Dons side that upset Under-18 Premier League opposition in the form of Burnley in round three.
Midfielder Nile, who has played across Under-18 and Under-23 levels this season and earned his first team debut against Wolfsberger AC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month, wants to make sure he and his team-mates approach the game with the right mindset.
“It’s very important that we win this game and progress,” said the 18-year-old. “The FA Youth Cup is a very prestigious tournament that we’d really love to be a part of going into the latter stages – that’s where we’re hoping to get to, but AFC Wimbledon will be another good test like Newport was in the last round, so we need to approach it correctly and be consistent. Everybody needs to work together as a team and do a job and a half, because it’s not going to be an easy game. We’re going to find ourselves up against a different style of football as well, so we just need to adapt and adjust to how it will be.”
It’s the second time in a row we’ve been pitted against an EFL Youth Alliance side in the competition and although we ended up winning 6-2 against Newport back in January, it was far from plain sailing in the opening stages as we found ourselves 2-0 down before a five-goal salvo from Dane Scarlett inspired us to victory.
“Really and truly I think it’s about concentration,” said Nile when asked what the players will need to do to avoid a repeat scenario in the first half. “Hopefully we’ll have a lot of the ball like we did against Newport, we just need to make sure everybody is concentrating and focused throughout the 90 minutes and as well as that, the first 10 or 20 minutes, because they’re as crucial as the rest of the game, as the last match showed.
“It’s been a strange build-up because with the international break, there’s not been many games, but we’ve just got to make sure that we prepare ourselves properly – that started from the beginning of the week, making sure we’re in the right mindset, making sure we’re on top of everything physically going into the game and making sure when the whistle blows, we’ve got our heads straight and are focused on the task ahead. There’s a good energy, a good vibe around the group and that’s what we want going into a game like this. We just want everybody to be as excited for it as possible but as well as that, remain as professional as possible going into a game that will be difficult but hopefully enjoyable as well.”
What would it mean to Nile if we could go all the way in this competition? “It’s a big target to work towards, it’s a challenge, but this group of players is really up for that challenge,” he said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve won the FA Youth Cup and with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea who have won it in recent years, it would be perfect for us to put Tottenham back on the board as winners of the FA Youth Cup, especially this year, because I think it’s something that we’re capable of achieving with the squad that we have.”
Away from the domestic scene, Nile was full of praise for his Under-18s team-mate Maksim Paskotsi after the young centre-back earned his first two senior caps for Estonia during the international break: “It’s a great achievement for Maksim and we’re all very happy for him,” he smiled. “We’ve been playing with him for the last seven months, he’s growing as a player, improving as a player and he fully deserves what’s come to him. We all know that you’ve just got to be ready for any opportunity when it comes and that’s exactly what he’s been doing.”
Wednesday’s match will be broadcast live on AFC Wimbledon’s YouTube channel. We’ll also bring you live updates on Twitter @SpursOfficial.
