U17s Head Coach pleased with Euro results, but still wants improvement
John Peacock led his U17s through to the Elite Qualifying Round with a perfect record in Estonia, but says there is still room for improvement from the squad.
The Young Lions topped their First Qualifying Round group after three wins out of three against the host nation Estonia, Wales and Northern Ireland.
And now they will progress to next March’s Elite Qualifying Round, where Peacock hopes they will put their experiences from the trip to Estonia to good use.
He said: “We would have taken this outcome at the very start of the tournament and after three wins against tough opposition, we’re delighted with that.
“No game has been easy, they’ve all been difficult in different ways and I think we can be pleased with the results that we’ve got, but I know there’s room for improvement and the lads know that as well.
“It’s nice when you win, but also try to improve on what you’ve achieved going forward.”
With conditions in the Baltic Nation also testing the squad over the course of the week, Head Coach Peacock was pleased with the way his players adapted and carried themselves both on and off the pitch.
“The lads have coped really well and have done themselves credit off the pitch, as well as the results,” said Peacock.
“We’ve had difficult conditions, especially in the last game when we had to switch to an artificial pitch because of the snow.
“We coped with all of that and came through it and now we look forward.”
The draw for the Elite Round takes place in Nyon in early December and Peacock is hoping that his squad’s results in Tallinn will be enough to see them as a seeded nation in the draw.
But with two more qualifying groups still to be played, it’s a case of ‘wait and see’ for Peacock.
“The seeded teams in the draw are seven of the top teams from all of the qualifying groups, which we just missed out on last year,” he explained.
“At the moment, we are sixth-best with two more qualifying groups still to play. There are some very good teams still in, so we’ll wait and see and then it’s down to the luck of the draw and you take what you get."