Good evening everybody and welcome back to Carrow Road for tonight's match against Cardiff City.
On the weekend just passed, the youth team travelled to Manchester to take on Manchester City in the quarter-final of the FA Youth Cup, at the time of writing however, the match has not been played.
It was important that the boys approached the game in the correct manner and were prepared physically and mentally for the match.
To give them a little extra boost last week, I made plans for a special guest to come to the training ground and spend a day with them.
Dion Dublin arrived at Colney last Tuesday afternoon and the lads were obviously excited by the prospect of spending the day with a man with such a great reputation in the game and somebody with a real affiliation with our Football Club. During his time at the Club, Dion showed great interest in the youth team and would offer advice and support to the young players on a regular basis and even sat alongside me in the dugout for a couple of youth team matches.
Dion trained with the boys on Tuesday afternoon and I have to say the quality of the session from the lads was of a very high standard, Dion's presence certainly brought the best out of the young players.
Later in the day the boys and Dion travelled to Carrow Road for a question and answer session and he gave a very motivational presentation. He talked of his time as a player, how to deal with pressure and nerves, how to cope with being an underdog and generally advising the players how to approach the game itself.
On a personal level, I found the whole day a terrific experience and having spoken to the players the next day, I know that they thoroughly enjoyed their day with Dion and I am sure they would have learned a great deal from the day.
For Dion to give up his time like this and travel from his home to spend time with the lads proves how important the Club remains to him. On behalf of all the staff and players involved with the Academy, I would like to sincerely thank Dion for coming to visit us and providing our young players with the benefit of his knowledge, expertise and experience, it is very much appreciated.
Enjoy the game.
Ricky Martin
Academy Manager
