- Academy coach Liam Manning expressed his delight at the inclusion of an Academy trio on Slaven Bilic’s first team bench for the trip to Liverpool
- Manning was speaking after the U23s’ 3-2 defeat to Swansea City on Monday night
- The Hammers went 3-0 down before worrying their Welsh opponents at the death
Hammers Premier League 2 assistant manager Liam Manning says the whole Academy was delighted to see the young trio of Marcus Browne, Domingos Quina and Alex Pike on the first team bench on Sunday.
The youngsters travelled with Slaven Bilic’s men to Anfield to face Liverpool and made up the Croatian’s matchday squad before returning to east London to turn out for the U23s who were beaten 3-2 by Swansea City on Monday.
Despite the disappointing defeat suffered against the Hammers’ south Wales opponents, Manning focused on the major positive of the week.
He said: “It’s tremendous to see them getting around the first team and it’s what we all do it for. It’s why we put in the hours and what we’re all about, to see them getting in and around the first team.
“All the staff at the Academy are involved, from the U9s to the 23s now, and seeing those three on the bench yesterday is what it’s all about.
“We’ve got a top group in terms of their attitude and application on a daily basis.”
All three young Hammers have made their first team debuts for the Club, though they are yet to make a Premier League appearance in claret and blue.
But attention turned straight to Premier League 2 on Monday as the side put on a late show to almost stage an unlikely comeback after going 3-0 behind.
After the result, Manning continued: “It’s a frustrating result given how much of the ball we had. We’re forcing the lads to do that because it will get them ready for the Premier League.
“We’re frustrated with the manner of the goals, because they came from our mistakes. We tend to work really hard to create and score goals, and then hand the opposition goals.
“We just need to make sure we address the errors and little mistakes that are bound to happen at this age.
“In terms of the performance, we’re pleased with certain elements and we certainly had some good individual performances.”