Swindon Town

JEREMY Newton admits that the academy’s recent trip to a tournament in the Cayman Islands was disappointing from a results perspective but provided the players with a ‘fantastic challenge’ against some big clubs.

Speaking to swindontownfc.co.uk, the Academy Manager also declared that he was delighted to have reached a personal milestone in being awarded his UEFA Pro Licence qualification – the highest achievable accolade for elite level coaches.

“It’s a huge personal achievement,” he said. “It’s taken a fair few years to complete but it’s something that, from the outset, I’ve committed to 100%. It is about time management and I’ve had to complete my study on top of that then present that back to the panel at the FA. It’s a huge achievement and it’s something I’m very proud of. Everyone at the club and all the academy staff have been very supportive.”

Newton then reflected on the recent trip to the Caribbean as the academy begins to wind down for the summer break.

“It was disappointing from a results point of view,” he said. “I’ve spoken before about the variables they would encounter out there with the heat, the humidity and the time difference and it all plays a huge part. The boys left on Monday and didn’t arrive until the equivalent of 4.30 in the morning our time. They were expected to play 12 hours later so they had to get on with it and deal with that in tournament football. It’s an eye-opener for some of them. It was a big tournament with 12 teams in it - the eventual winners were Manchester City but there were some good teams in it. The MLS academies are starting to shake things up; LA Galaxy had a couple of international players too which was a fantastic challenge for our players. Everyone has come back safe and they had their last session last week before finishing for the summer break.”

He added: “Everyone has gone through the review process. Each and every player has a handover document which all the coaches have to complete. When that player moves up, the next group of coaches have a detailed background of that player. Even though the coaches do know the players, it gives them that bit more insight and detail into that individual.”