Cameron Toshack | U23s raring to go

Swansea City Under-23s coach Cameron Toshack says the development side are raring to go as they launch their Premier League 2 Division 2 season against Norwich City today (12pm).

The young Swans begin life back in the second tier of development football when they travel to Colney Training Centre this afternoon.

The under-23s are aiming to embark on a successful campaign following last year’s relegation after two years in the top flight.

That begins against the young Canaries, who finished 11th in Premier League 2 Division 2 last term.

The development side arrive off the back of a hugely productive pre-season programme that saw them beat JD Cymru Premier side Barry Town United, while there were also plenty of positives to take from their performances against Torquay United and Carmarthen Town.

And Toshack says there is plenty of excitement within the camp ahead of the big kick-off.

“The guys are really excited now and raring to go,” he said.

“From the group’s perspective – players and staff – we’re keen to get things under way.

“The pre-season for all the players at the football club has been really good.

“Norwich will also be wanting to get off to a positive start, so we’re looking forward to seeing how our youngsters cope with what will be a very challenging task.”

During pre-season, Toshack challenged his players to focus on establishing certain principles within their performances and putting them into practice.

And the under-23s coach has laid out what he expects of the development side today.

“From our perspective, one of the main things early on is to see if, after six weeks of training and playing games, the players are able to perform in a way that we want them to – both with and without the ball,” he added.

“Sometimes, it’s not easy for young players to exhibit that when they’re being put under pressure in certain games. As we move over the first six to eight weeks, we’ll be looking for our young group to show signs of improvement collectively and as individuals.

“Youngsters do need time so you can’t be too hard on them. It’s just a learning process and a matter of them being able to recognise the areas that need developing.

“We’re renowned as being a team that likes to keep the ball and challenge opposition. The other thing that we demand from our young men is high energy, so we’ll be looking for them to exhibit those on Friday.”