Southampton coach Paul Hardyman shares honest opinion on Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium

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The Saints Under-18s boss saw his side beaten 3-1 by their Spurs counterparts in Sunday’s Under-18 Premier League clash at N17.

Southampton Under-18s coach Paul Hardyman has given his thoughts on Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium after his Saints charges were the first visitors to take on a Spurs side back at N17.

After months of delays, Tottenham’s new ground is finally up and running, with two test events with increasing levels of attendances needed for the club to achieve a former safety certificate.

The first of those two events – an Under-18 Premier League game – has taken place, with 28,987 seeing the Lilywhites run out 3-1 winners on Sunday thanks to first-half goals from J’Neil Bennett and Harvey White, a deficit-halver by Kornelius Hansen, and Dilan Markanday’s killer third for the hosts.

Speaking after the game, Hardyman admitted that his boys got “a little bit nervous, very nervous” in the first half, hinting at the magnitude of the occasion for them, but were much improved after the interval, and thinks it will do them the world of good playing in front of such a crowd at that level.

“It’s a great experience for these lads playing here in such a fantastic stadium and it is lovely,” he continued in conversation with the official Southampton website. “Some of them might not ever play here again.

“It’s a day that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives but from a footballing point of view it is a little bit disappointing that we did concede two really poor goals we should have done better with. Playing in front of a crowd just gives them that little bit more of an edge that they’re going to need if they’re going to progress in their career.”

Following the Under-18s game, a Tottenham legends team is due to take on their Inter Milan counterparts on 30 March in front of a crowd of around 45,000, and then comes the first competitive senior game, the Premier League clash against Crystal Palace on 3 April, which will come complete with an opening ceremony.