Byron Anthony optimistic and excited by U18s’ potential

Swansea City Under-18s coach Byron Anthony says he is excited by the prospect of helping nurture the promising talents at his disposal between now and the end of the season.

The young Swans welcome Charlton Athletic to Landore for their latest Professional Development League South clash on Saturday.

Anthony’s side will be looking to bounce back from their 5-1 defeat at Watford in his first game in charge last weekend.

Result aside, it was a productive afternoon for the Swans, whose squad boasted an average age of just 16 years and four months.

Six under-16s players were part of the travelling party including Joel Cotterill, while 15-year-olds Ben Lloyd, Sebastian Dabrowski and Iwan Morgan all gave creditable accounts of themselves against more experienced opposition.

And Anthony believes the young players at his disposal provide plenty of cause for optimism going forward.

“There’s a lot to look forward to in terms of looking after our exciting prospects and managing their development,” the under-18s coach said.

“I’m really excited to be working with them and being a part of their journeys.

“Joel and Ben have been doing really well. They’re both extremely young players; even though they’ve already played a handful of games at under-18 and under-23 level.

“Seb and Iwan have lots of ability between them as well. We gave them opportunities against Watford as a reward for their good week’s work with us.

“They’re both physically ready to be involved; otherwise I wouldn’t have put them in the squad. We’ll just manage them over the next few weeks.

“There are lots of games coming thick and fast, so there will be plenty of opportunities for them all to play again.”