Norwich City Under-23s midfielder Saul Milovanovic is confident of the Canaries’ ability to cause Manchester United U23s problems when the teams meet at Leigh Sports Village on Friday night (7pm KO)
City go into the game looking to turn their form around, after a run of games without a win sees them sit 11th in the Premier League 2 Division 2. As for their opposition, United have had a good start to the season and are currently second in the league behind West Ham United.
canaries.co.uk: Second from bottom against second from top. It’s going to be a tough challenge.
SM: Like last season when we played United away, it’s always going to be tough. We were in a similar situation in the league but we did overturn them because we had that desire to work harder than them. We got the two goals and the three points, so hopefully it’s the same.
canaries.co.uk: What else do you remember from that 2-1 win last season?
SM: We actually went 1-0 down and managed to turn it around. Wrighty has been looking for that desire this season to come back in games. We didn’t do that against Stoke, so this time if we do go one or two down, we’ll be looking to turn it around while playing our way.
canaries.co.uk: We haven’t had the best run of results lately. How do we get out of that form?
SM: We’ve got to keep playing our way and believing in ourselves. Hopefully it will come off. We’ll keep working hard even if we’re losing games. We can cut through teams and we’ve proved that in games. We just need to keep it up for the whole 90 minutes. If we do that, we can hurt United.
canaries.co.uk: Despite our league position, we’ve got the fifth best defensive record having only conceded ten goals. You must take satisfaction in that as a holding midfielder.
SM: It’s always nice to hear those stats. All the lads have been trying their hardest in training defensively and tactically. We work on it day in day out and it’s been coming off. The new lads have come in and done well.
canaries.co.uk: You’ve been here for around a year and a half now. How do you feel you’ve developed over that time personally?
SM: I’ve definitely improved under Wrighty. He’s demanding, which I like. He wants to get the best out of his players, so I’ve definitely improved.
canaries.co.uk: How important was it to have familiar faces from Huddersfield Town when you signed for Norwich?
SM: I knew Steve Weaver and Jordan Thomas, as well as a couple of the Under-18s. That helped me settle in definitely. More recently, Dan Adshead came from Rochdale but he lived in Manchester which is near me so it’s been good to have him here. I’ve helped him settle in.
canaries.co.uk: That’s one of your responsibilities now isn’t it, helping new players get used to the surroundings?
SM: I’m probably one of the longest-serving players in the squad now because so many have come in recently! It’s good to have a lot of new signings.
Manchester United U23s v Norwich City U23s kicks off at 7pm, and you can follow the action on Twitter @NorwichCityAcad.