Thu Mar 02, 2023 6:17 am
Darren Purse glad to get players back:
Darren Purses U21’s have struggled the last couple of seasons and wants to finish this season on a high.
Darren Purse spoke of his disappointment following yesterday's 2-0 defeat by Charlton Athletic, but expressed his delight at having Cian Ashford and James Crole back from Torquay and is also over his injuries.
Ashford has not had the season he would have hoped for, having been out for five months with injury, but is now back and ready to make his mark at the back end of the campaign.
Crole cut his loan spell at Torquay United short after aggravating an ankle injury, which is a disappointment for him personally, but having the young striker, who has certainly shown where the back of the net is, available will please Purse to no end.
"I'm gutted for the boys, because I think that the work-rate that they put in, and some of the individual performances we had made it that we played really well," Purse said after the defeat.
"In the second half we let them back into the game a little bit, and didn't start it as well as we could've done. Other than putting the ball in the back of the net, we played really well.
"I'm disappointed with the result, but the performance was really good. It was nice to get some of the lads back from injuries, so getting some more strength in depth to the U21 squad is a big positive.
"It's a learning curve for us, and I don't think we started the second half in the same way that we did the first, but again, it was a good performance overall and we deserved something from the game."