Rowswell on ‘massive opportunity’ as Academy players acclimatise in Spain

As he emerged from the changing room and looked out over the freshly rain-drenched pitch after Tuesday afternoon’s Academy training session in Spain, James Rowswell was his usual focused self.

One of the comparatively more senior players in our young squad that’s travelled out to Seville to take on Real Betis in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday, the 19-year-old had just taken part in our final on-pitch session before our eagerly-awaited round of 32 tie and, much like the field in front of him, was just soaking everything in.

The sun had been out earlier in the day when the players went for a pre-breakfast walk through the area’s colourful streets and during the first part of training at Ciudad Deportiva Rafael Gordillo – Betis’ Academy training complex on the southern outskirts of the city – but by the end of the session, during which James had worked through a series of defensive drills with Assistant Coach Troy Archibald-Henville, the rain was falling as had been forecast.

Grabbing his food parcel from our nutritionist and sitting down under a sheltered area of the facility to take part in a pre-match interview, the rainfall now set in, the versatile defender insisted that, much like with the weather, the players are prepared for all eventualities when kick-off time arrives on Wednesday evening.

“We’re ready for whatever comes our way,” he declared, looking ahead to the start of the competition’s knockout phase, where the fixtures no longer dovetail with first team matches. “For me personally, I’m very excited about the game and I think the whole team are. We’re buzzing to play here. It’s a massive opportunity for all of us to show what we’re capable of on such a big stage.

“The hotel since we arrived has been lovely, the support and everything around us has been perfect – we couldn’t really ask for much more, so we just need to perform now. The place is lovely but we’re all so focused to win. There’s a brilliant vibe around the squad right now – we all just want to progress in the competition.”

Wednesday’s match takes place six miles further into the city at Real Betis’ other training ground, Ciudad Deportiva Luis Del Sol, where their first team are based. James underlined how the opportunity to travel out to Seville before the match and acclimatise to the area with a training session – on the way to which, incidentally, the team bus passed the facilities of Betis’ fierce La Liga rivals Sevilla – is hugely beneficial.

“It gives us a sense of knowing what we’re playing on, so we’ve got an idea what the pitch is going to be like and so it won’t be a surprise for us, giving us the best opportunity to perform and win,” he said, quickly circling back to his and the team’s main objective on the trip.

“The teams abroad probably have a different playing style compared to us in England but it’s been a good test for us in the competition so far and I think we’ve done really well. We’ve scored the most goals and we want that to continue. Like I said, we’re ready for whatever comes our way from the opposition.”

A decent portion of our chart-topping 28 goals in the league phase of the tournament came from James himself. The Welwyn Garden City-born teenager has scored in four of our six European games so far this term – not bad for a defender!

“I probably didn’t expect to get this many, but I’ve just been trying to get into the right areas and it’s been working really well, so hopefully that continues,” added the right-footer, who has seen duty at right-back and centre-half in the initial phase of the competition, and who last month scored his first league goal at Under-21 level in a 1-1 Premier League 2 draw at Burnley. “I want more goals and so does the rest of the team.”

Always a sensible head on young shoulders, James has taken on captaincy duties for our Development Squad in recent weeks, having also skippered us in the UEFA Youth League trip to Paris Saint-Germain back in November. After earning a place on the first team bench on six occasions so far this season, he says he wants to bring some of the things he’s learned from being around our senior players into his own game, which in turn he hopes can aid our European quest at this level.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience to be around the first team in Europe, in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup,” he said. “Through all of these experiences and opportunities, I’ve just been taking little bits, little details from the first team habits and I’ve tried to bring that into my game as much as possible. I watch and learn specific players to see what they’re doing, and it’s about trying to put that into my game. Hopefully that rubs off on the players around me as well.”

Kick-off on Wednesday is at 5pm UK time (6pm local time in Spain). Supporters can watch the match live in the UK on TNT Sports 4 or online via UEFA TV.