Leeds United cult-hero Andy Hughes is optimistic about the future at Elland Road.
Andy Hughes has told Talking Shutt that Leeds deserve a pat on the back for the work that they have done with their academy in recent years, while he added that he found it incredible how many people watched their under-23 side clinch their league title on Monday.
The Elland Road faithful could reel off a seemingly never-ending list of names of players who have come through the academy and gone on to play for the Whites first-team or have successful careers elsewhere down the years.
And after a couple of difficult seasons, it appears that Leeds are enjoying what has the potential to be another golden era. Carlos Corberan’s under-23 side secured the Professional Development League North title this week and have a Premier League Cup quarter-final tie to look forward to in the coming days.
And with Marcelo Bielsa showing no hesitation when it comes to including under-23 players in his first-team squads, it appears that it is a seriously exciting time to be a youngster at Thorp Arch.
And Hughes – who currently works as first-team coach at Huddersfield, but remains a cult-hero at Elland Road – insisted that the Championship high-flyers deserve a lot of credit for what has been created, while he also commented on the amount of people who watched their 2-0 win against Colchester on social media earlier this week.
“Leeds seem to be getting it right,” he told Talking Shutt. “They should give themselves a pat on the back. The new manager now has given them all a chance and I think it’s a big thing for the city of Leeds to have Leeds people in the team.
“I think they had 7,000 live views or something [for the game against Colchester]. That’s just incredible so hopefully that’s a good omen for the rest of the season,” he went on to add when discussing the interest in the title-clinching victory.
What has been remarkable about Leeds’ young players this term is the way that none of them seem to have been overawed by the prospect of featuring for the first-team when their chances have come.
The likes of Jamie Shackleton and Jack Clarke have looked at home on the bigger stage, and it looks as though several of their under-23 teammates are going to follow them into the senior side in the very near future.
And with the club’s under-18s right in contention to win their own league title this season, it appears that the next crop of names to look out for are developing nicely.
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