Academy'We want to win semi-finals and finals - it's a good habit'
The young Reds have suffered just one defeat in their last 10 following the festive period and are currently on a six-game unbeaten run.
Lewtas’ side host Blackpool on Monday afternoon in the semi-final of the Lancashire FA Senior Cup – a match you can watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO, with kick-off set for 2pm BST.
Blackpool have former Academy coach Neil Critchley as their first-team manager and are expected to field a mixed XI of senior and youth players.
The game has to be decided on the day and will go straight to penalties if the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes.
Read on as Lewtas previews the semi-final and talks about his side’s recent displays…
On how satisfied he has been with the U23s’ form…
Really pleased. I think our level of performance has been really good and been consistent. We have spoken a lot around when we had some inconsistent times earlier in the season and we stuck together and believed in what we were trying to do and how we were trying to play. Slowly but surely, I think we have started to come through that now and we are seeing performances. It’s not just for spells in games.
Obviously we were disappointed not to win our last game against Chelsea, having been 2-0 up, but overall our performances since Christmas have been really pleasing. We believe we can get better and I think the real shame is sometimes when you hit a run of performances the way we are in this moment, you don’t really want the season to end. As a group we have discussed this and we want to finish the season as strong as we can and carry through our good form right to the end.
On the frustrations of seeing Chelsea get a stoppage-time equaliser in their last outing…
It was a game we should have won and we had the chances to finish the game off. The boys are getting to an age now when they either want to be in the first-team side or out on loan. Whatever the motivation is, I think when we were in such a strong position that we were against Chelsea, to then not come away with the win is disappointing. Internally as a group we discussed that and we are disappointed with the result. We’ve talked a lot about converting those performances into results, which we have been doing recently. So to not get another was disappointing, but we’ve dusted ourselves, had quite a few training sessions since and the boys seem really at it at the moment.
On James Norris being nominated for Premier League 2 Player of the Month…
In fairness to Chuck, he has been ever so flexible for us as a group and the team. He is a real strong performer at left-back but at the moment that’s a position we have a lot of players in and around there, like Owen Beck. James has shown fantastic versatility but really performed well in the positions that he has played. I think that will really support him in his development.
He has operated out wide for us and combined ever so well with Owen. He has played at left-back in recent weeks – and done ever so well – and in central midfield. So at this level to do that as an U19 player is a credit to him. I was really pleased to see him nominated because it shows after the games other coaches are highlighting the performances he has put in. Fair play to him.
On the challenge of facing Blackpool…
It will be a real big test. When we played Preston North End in the quarter-final, you always get a mixed bag of players. The reason we entered this competition is we hope that teams are going to play some first-team squad players, and we are really hopeful that Blackpool will bring a strong team – because that’s what we want, as we want to try to put ourselves against the best opposition possible.
Obviously for our boys the next step is the senior game, so we are hoping Critch brings down a few seniors. We are really excited. It’s a semi-final and we want to give these boys as much experience as we can. But we want to win semi-finals, we want to win finals. They are good habits to have, so we will be giving it a really good go on Monday – no doubt about that.
On seeing Critchley again…
It will be great to see Critch and Mike Garrity again. Critch did a fantastic job at the Academy. When I was the U18s coach he was the U23s boss and we had a close working relationship. It has been fantastic to see the job Critch and Mike have done at Blackpool. It is fantastic and everyone at the Academy is unbelievably pleased for them and the job they have done. It will be really good to see them both on Monday.