Peterborough United under 18s welcome Luton Town under 18s to the idverde Training Ground on Saturday morning (11am) as part of their preparations for the Under-18 League 2 (North) campaign.
Jamal Campbell-Ryce’s side will face four pre-season friendlies over the next three weeks, including visits from Fulham (23rd July), Southend United (30th July) and Kinetic (6th August), while also competing in a U17 tournament on Tuesday 7th August.
The game against Luton Town will be the players' first minutes of pre-season, with Campbell-Ryce set to field two sides for each half tomorrow with the aim of each player receiving 45 minutes each. János Bodnár and Ben Challinor are expected to be involved after the pair featured in the U21s pre-season victory over Yaxley FC last weekend.
Campbell-Ryce ahead of the first game said: “The players have been excellent since they have returned. The attitude, effort, hard work and determination have all been there. They have really been put through their paces, and now it’s just about getting the fitness improved in the first couple of weeks, then we will start bringing out the tactical and technical stuff.
“It will be a 90-minute game tomorrow, but we plan to have two completely different teams for each half, so every player can receive 45 minutes each and follow the schedule from the sports science department. Although fitness is our main objective, we don’t want to get any injuries so early into pre-season, it’s all about building up their minutes and that will be key in the opening games of the schedule.”
U18s Pre-Season Schedule:
- Saturday 16th July - Luton Town (H) - 11am
- Saturday 23rd July - Fulham FC (H) - 11:30am
- Saturday 30th July - Southend United (H) - 11am
- Saturday 6th August - Kinetic (H) - 12pm