NORWICH City’s Under-21s and Under-18s sides kick-off their league campaigns this weekend hopeful of making a positive start from trips to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

The Development Squad, led by recently-appointed coach Dale Brooks, make the journey to Leigh Sports Village to take on the Red Devils on Friday night (7pm), with that game set for live television coverage on MUTV.

Brooks, who returned to the Club earlier this month from Falkirk, said: “I’m very excited. It’s a new challenge for me but it’s a good club to be at, hence why I returned here. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.

“We have a scenario where some lads are out loan, some are injured and some have progressed up to the first team, but that’s what it’s all about.

“We have a young squad and we have some exciting games coming. It’s going to be challenging but that’s what player development is all about.

“We will go up to Manchester and do our best. In time, these challenges will stand the players in good stead for their futures.”

Jerry Gill’s Under-18s start their season on Saturday against Spurs and he believes his youngsters will reap the rewards of an action-packed last month that has seen them visit the Czech Republic as part of a nine-game warm-up schedule.

“It’s been a busy pre-season but it’s gone really well. The conditioning has worked fantastically for us and it’s all geared up for the kick-off Saturday at Spurs,” he said.

“This is a group I really enjoy working with. There are some really exciting prospects in there; we’ve got the second-years who are pushing to get into the Development Squad and some first-year scholars who are very talented.

“At the moment we’re quite light in our numbers because of the Under-21s not having the biggest group. We’ve got six who have gone up to that group already, which is fantastic.

“We’ll have a team ready and prepared to go and play at Tottenham, we’ll have a game plan and hopefully we’ll go down there and perform to the best of our capabilities.”

For the full fixture programme for Norwich City's Under-21s, click HERE.

For the full fixture programme for Norwich City's Under-18s, click HERE.

ACADEMY TEAMS SET FOR SEASON'S START

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