Porter demands standards after Foxes defeat | Interview | News

Our under-21s head coach Max Porter could only speak of disappointment after the 5-1 loss to Leicester City in the Premier League 2.

The Foxes had the game all but wrapped up before half-time, and continued to dominate after the break, as our young Gunners struggled to get going throughout the affair.

“The performance, particularly in the first half, was nowhere near the levels we want to set at this academy and, in particular, at this football club.

“We lost the duals early on. Our press was passive. When we did get there, we didn’t make fouls, we didn’t get close enough to people.

“The goals we conceded tonight, five goals, four of them are giveaways and they’re cheap giveaways that shouldn’t happen. We were late on the press. That’s really, really poor from us.

“So, we’re really disappointed. This group has recently been ultra-competitive. It’s been the youngest group in PL2 since the turn of the year. We’ve been really happy with how they’ve competed in every game.

“We haven’t always played well, but because of that competitive edge, the way we’ve done the basics, we’ve been able to get a foothold and a foundation in games and get some results.

“Tonight, we didn’t do that and we learnt a really harsh lesson. If we don’t compete and don’t do the basics well, you can’t survive and perform in football matches.”

Evan Mooney’s goal just before the interval had reduced the deficit to 3-1, which might have sparked a second-half improvement, but ultimately it wasn’t to be.

Max made it clear in the dressing room that performances had to be raised. “The message at half-time was pretty blunt and direct. We haven’t been near the level. If we’re going to go and press and compete, we have to do it with a real purpose and there wasn’t that today.

“You want to see young footballers playing with passion and desire. We actually felt passive during the warm-up, and we warned the players about that before the game. We said, we can’t be like this.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t work. At half-time, we had some direct messages. We showed some examples of what wasn’t the level and what we needed to do.

“We said we were to be lucky in the game because we’ve scored, but the next goal is massive. And then we did have a little bit of a spell where if we’d got the next goal, it might have been interesting.

“But I have to be honest, that wouldn’t have been a reflection of Leicester, who deserved to win the game.”

Despite the result, Max’s side remains well-positioned to qualify for the PL2 play-offs with three gameweeks to go.

We currently sit 11th in the table, with 16th place being the threshold to progress, but Max expects standards to rise if we are to get over the line. “I’ve got to be honest, that would be brilliant and we want to make the play-offs,” he said. “However, the biggest thing I’m looking for now is a response.

“I’ve just told the boys that this week is massive. Don’t come in sulking. When we come in, we’re ready to work, we’re ready to get better. We have to respond because, unfortunately, that wasn’t the level.

“However, they’re young players and we have to show that we learn from it because otherwise it’s not even worth the really tough experience we’ve been through. So that’s the biggest thing I’m looking for and then in the remaining games, to be competitive.

“It’ll be tough because we play Sunderland in the international break and potentially we’re losing between 15-18 international players across the academy. So whatever team we go with there, we’ve got to be really competitive. We’ve got to do the basics well and we’ve got to show a response.”