Sam Tillen is looking forward to City U18’s pre-season tour in Bath.
Following the first week of pre-season training, Tillen’s side head to the south of the country for a pre-season tour. City U18 will take part in three games over the course of the week, taking on Exeter City, Newport County and Plymouth Argyle, starting with the Grecians on Tuesday.
He said: “We’ve got three games against teams we don’t usually play against. It’s an opportunity for us to get away together, do some activities and build some camaraderie and togetherness. It also gives us an opportunity to do more work on the pitch and focus on building our identity.
“We’ll be working on our shape and how we set up, both offensively and defensively. We’ll look to really try and get that embedded in these games and give ourselves a foundation to work on for the rest of pre-season.”
Following the week in Bath, the young Imps will continue their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign with a string of fixtures against Lincolnshire sides, including Sleaford Town and Lincoln United.
Tillen is eager to get his side experience playing against senior men’s teams, and the challenges that brings.
He added: “We have a good selection of fixtures against local sides. We’re going to be playing against teams at a good non-league level.
“From the physicality perspective, it gives us a good test playing against men. That’s beneficial for the lads because for them, that is their next step, so we need to get them prepared for that.”