Academy Manager John Townson wants his under 18’s players to learn from their mistakes after a heavy defeat to Wigan.

The young Reds lost 6-2 away to their Latics counterparts on Friday despite the scoreline being 1-1 at half time.

Townson believes that difficult days are all part of the learning curve for the youngsters.

“We did fantastically in the first half and got ourselves back into the game but it was different in the second half,” he explained. “Since the gaffer has come in he wants to play football and play out from the back and I think that’s great but that’s a bit of a culture shock to these lads from the last couple of years. I couldn’t fault their effort or attitude or their commitment to get the ball down and play.

“We looked at the goals this morning and none of them came from playing the ball out from the back. However we did concede six goals and they were bad errors to be honest. It’s something we’ll work on. We’ve been through it with the lads today.

“We haven’t done a great deal of work on defensive shape so far and I’ll take that one on the chin. I’m confident as the weeks go by and the sessions get put on then we’ll eradicate those errors.

“I can’t stress enough how hard they worked and how committed they were to getting the ball down and play and that was what I took out of it.

“Seasoned pros make mistakes so 16, 17 and 18 year olds certainly will. It’s just a case of learning from the mistakes and coming back stronger from them. I have no doubt they will do that.

“Whatever these lads go on to do, whether it’s football or something else, they are going to have to deal with disappointments. Football is a great place to learn that and we’re creating an environment where we can help them as best we can.”