Jon Grey hails U23s’ defensive heroics as he signs off with a win

3rd March
Jon Grey

Jon Grey heaped praise on Swansea City Under-23s’ defensive resilience and the character demonstrated during their 2-0 victory over Millwall.

The young Swans made it back-to-back wins in Professional Development League South, with goals from Daniel Williams and Jordi Govea securing three hard-earned points.

The visitors also defended admirably in London to keep their hosts at bay, while goalkeeper Jamie Searle produced a string of smart saves to secure only a second clean sheet of the season.

For Grey, the victory marked his final game in charge before handing over the reins to Kris O’Leary and Anthony Wright ahead of Monday’s clash with Ipswich Town.

Playing on a bobbly pitch against more experienced players, he was pleased with the way his players dealt with the testing conditions.

“It was a really good performance on a difficult surface,” he said.

“We defended really well and took our chances, which was pleasing.

“We defended as a team from front to back. The back four did very well and Jamie made some excellent saves.

“Obviously, we came under pressure at certain points in the game, but we showed good resilience and character to defend and keep a clean sheet.”

Jon Grey

Grey has overseen the fortunes of the under-23s since December 2019 - following the departures of Cameron Toshack and Gary Richards.

He now swaps the grass for the confines of an office as he returns to his previous role as the academy’s head of coaching, developing a curriculum for his fellow coaches to adhere to with their respective age-grade sides.

And the outgoing coach is excited at the prospect of focusing all his efforts on shaping the future of the club.

“I thanked the boys at the end. I’ve really enjoyed it over the past year,” he added.

“It’s now time for me to go back to my daily job. I’ve continued to do it even though I’ve been in charge of the under-23s, but I haven’t been able to fully focus on it.

“I’m looking forward to having an impact on all the teams in the academy.

“Having worked with the club for so long and all the players at some point, I just hope we can keep evolving and ensuring we can continue to produce first-team players for Swansea City.”