Having enjoyed a rest over the Academy winter break, and not being in action again until our FA Youth Cup tie at Everton, tomorrow’s Under-18 Premier League fixture away at Leicester represents our Under-18’s only match during a spell of over a month.

After ending the first half of the season in fine form thanks to a run of four wins on the bounce, it is understandable that the squad is eager to get going again for this match, although the line-up could have a fresh look due to some badly timed injuries.

However, Hassan Sulaiman is looking at the positives, in the opportunities that will hand other members of the squad to show what they can do.

‘Everyone’s come back in really good spirits, ready and raring to go,’ he said. ‘It was good for everyone to go away and have a little break, come back feeling refreshed, revitalised and ready to go.

‘We do actually have a few injuries, which is a little bit disappointing. Towards the end of the week we had a few boys pull out, and we’ve got Harrison Murray-Campbell suspended. So our team will be a little bit different tomorrow, but it’s great that it presents opportunities for other players to play and to step up.

‘It’s all part of the development journey. Some players haven’t had as much game time as others, so they’ve got to step up and take on the responsibility. It’s brilliant that we’re able to share that responsibility with all the players.

‘The positive thing about not having played for a while over the break is that it’s the same for every team in the league. Our job is just to make sure our boys are physically conditioned enough to be able to handle a game straight after the break.

‘We believe they are. We had to modify training to make sure we don’t overload them, and keep them fresh. We’ve had a really good week, despite the injuries.’

This is also the time of year that the players present what is known in the Academy as their scholar reports, where they are tasked with evaluating their own and the team’s performance during the first half of the season, as well as identifying areas for improvement.

In addition to being an important learning experience to encourage players to look at themselves with a critical eye and think about their development, it can also pay particular dividends at this time of year, when those goals are at the front of their mind.

‘Naturally they’ve all been in a reflective mood – reflecting on the first half of the season but also looking ahead to where they want to be in the second half of the season.

‘So they’ve done some real individual and team analysis with their mid-season reports. The players will all report back to a group of staff on what their journey so far has been like, with the first few doing that this week.

‘So coming back in they’ve all got goals, ambitions and aspirations, and those motivations will undoubtedly help us to hit the ground running in the first game. Because they’ve been working on the reports, they’re all in the right frame of mind in terms of where they want to be and what they want to achieve.’

Hopefully that will pay off when we travel to Leicester tomorrow in the form of a second victory there in less than a month, having defeated them 3-1 in the third round of the FA Youth Cup in December. That works both ways, though, with the home side no doubt looking for revenge for that elimination.

‘Of course, I’m sure that their ambition will be to win the game,’ added Sulaiman. ‘We will have played them four times by the end of the season, because we’ve also been drawn against them in the Under-18 Premier League Cup at the start of February, we beat them in the FA Youth Cup, and of course will play them home and away in the league.

‘I’m sure they will be motivated to at least win one of those games, and our ambition is to win every game. So we’re going to try our best to disappoint them again tomorrow.’