Ryan Hall admits it's been a tough season for Worksop Town U21

Developing players is a key aim of Ryan Hall. Pic by Lewis Pickersgill

Hall has had a staggered two seasons as manager of the club’s young Tigers, with his maiden season being hampered by weather postponements before the global pandemic curtailed the season after just seven games.

With the Under-21’s season being brought to another halt, Hall praised his player’s attitude during this period of uncertainty.

“It has been really annoying,” said Hall.

The U21'S have struggled to find momentum.

“We got to a good tempo where we were happy at and then we had to isolate for 14 days after the first game of the season, so we missed two games with that.

“Then, the weather struck against Clay Cross [Town] and then we went into another lockdown, so it has been frustrating, but the lad’s attitude has been class.

“They were straight back in training and all I can hope for is that the lads just keep playing as much as they can and keep the standards and the tempo that they have set for each other.

“We need to make sure that we are getting minutes back into legs and challenging the lads in the right way, so it is really important that we are getting competitive games in.”

It's been a season of frustration for Worksop Town's U21 manager.

Hall has seen several players make the transition to the first-team picture, including Callum Riley, Alister Haydock and Joel Cousins, who were all called up for Worksop’s league fixture against Sutton Coldfield Town.

Hall lauded the club for having this pathway for his side and the rest of the younger age groups to progress.

He continued: “Paz [Craig Parry] and I are constantly in conversation around who should be stepping up, and who needs game time, and who can actually help out in the first team in the long run.

“It is massively important for them to keep motivated over this period and look to get the end goal of playing for the first team, ultimately, over this season and keep hitting those targets that we have at the club to progress youngsters through.

“A few Under-16s have started to train with us and some of the Under-18s have too and the Under-21s are starting to move up as well.

“It is just good that we have that mentality as a club that we are not just going to win football games, but we are going to develop players as well.”