Head coach Neil Dewsnip is hoping to create another “happy memory” when he takes his England U18s side back to Bury on Friday evening.
Dewsnip, who began his working career in the Lancashire town as a PE teacher at Broad Oak High School in 1983, saw his side defeat Holland 4-1 on Wednesday, and he has challenged his players to maintain their high standard of performance in the rematch with the Dutch at the JD Stadium.
“I thought the players did exceptionally well,” Dewsnip told TheFA.com. “They’d trained really hard for the two days before, and I was a bit worried that they might have trained too well, and they’d leave it on the training pitch, but I’m glad to say that they carried that momentum into the game – they were excellent.
England v Holland
U18s International Match
7.30pm, Friday 5 September 2014
JD Stadium, Bury FC
Call 0871 221 1885 (option 3) for tickets
“It’s always a challenge when you concede the first goal, and statistically people will tell you that it’s much more difficult to win if that happens.
"But this group appear to be good characters in training, and I’ve got to know most of them now, and their reaction was first class – which is another massive plus that we know about them.”
The boss knows he has a talented group at his disposal, and he says it’s important that he and his staff provide them with everything they need to maintain their winning mentality.
He said: “They love to play well first and foremost, but the winning part is very important to them.
“They’re a talented group of players who want to do as well as they can. I think it’s important that we provide them with the environment and opportunity to achieve that.
“There’s a danger now that we have done so well on Wednesday that we take our eye off the fact that we want to win this game as well, but hopefully we’ll be OK.
“I don’t know whether the Dutch had a bad day or whether we were particularly good. I think it was the latter - and we were very good. Obviously Holland are one of the leading nations in the world and I expect a really tough challenge on Friday.”
And on his return to Bury, Dewsnip added: “It was where I had my first ever job as a PE teacher.
“I taught there for a year and a half, and I went on a number of occasions to watch Bury play during that period.
“It’s going to be really nice for me personally to go back and take the team there.
“I have many happy memories from there, and it would be lovely to create another.”
Tickets are available for England v Holland on Friday at Bury FC. Prices are £3 adults and £1 concessions - call 0871 221 1885 (option 3) for tickets.
