It has been a season of learning, progression and development for Regan Clayton.
A first full year with the U21s has seen the full-back regularly feature for Mark Robson’s side, train with the first team, and win the FA Youth Cup with his U18s teammates.
Now, one Premier League 2 match remains for Clayton and the other West Ham youngsters. A trip to Tottenham Hotspur awaits, with relegation from Division 1 still a possibility for both teams.
Now is the time to put everything Clayton has learned this year into effect.
“For me personally, the first few games were a bit tough at the start of the season,” the 18-year-old told whufc.com. “But I’ve grown into this league and its tempo, and I think the other young boys have as well. We’re just a tight-knit group as well.
“A lot of us have played in the FA Youth Cup together this season and we know how to play in big games, so we’re confident when we’re in the U21s. We all want to play well and prove ourselves at this level.
“All the boys who came in from the U18s, we’ve come into the league with the same mindset that we’ve always had. We’re going into matches thinking we’re going to win because we’re good enough to win.
“Sometimes that can be difficult to spread around the whole group but it’s a mentality that has spread throughout our U21s squad this season. Results have gone our way and, some weeks, they’ve gone against us, but that mentality remains consistent.”
Spurs sit three points behind the Irons in the table but know a win by three or more goals on Sunday would move them about Clayton and his teammates in the league table. Such a defeat would put the Irons in very real danger of occupying a spot in the drop zone.
As such, the development team are all too aware of the significance of this weekend’s season finale.
“Tottenham is a massive match,” he continued. “ All of the boys are ready for it. We’ve been prepping all week for it and we know what we have to do. We need to go out and get the job done.
“We know Spurs won’t be easy. I’m sure they’ll have a couple of older players in there because they want to stay in Division 1, but I think we are strong no matter who we play. We’re confident in ourselves and we’ve got faith in each other. It’s going to be a tough game but it will be a good one too.”
Of all the lessons learned in the 2022/23 campaign, the most important has been the art of winning matches.
Clayton knows this first-hand. The start to the season in Premier League 2 was far from what the U21s hoped for, as good performances were not rewarded with points on the board.
The defender says everything is on getting the right result on Sunday, and putting into practice a season of learning and progression.
“We’ve all gained more experience, especially experience of winning games,” Clayton added. “That might sound simple but it’s really important. Sometimes performances aren’t going to be good, but we can still get three points from the game.
“As you get older and go into men’s football, it’s all about winning games. That’s what we have to know how to do and I do think we’ve got better at it as the season as gone on.
“This weekend is all about getting the result. We know, if our performance is at the level we’re capable of, then we’ll beat them. But we also know how to grind out results too if we need to. It’ll be a tricky game but we’re looking forward to it.”
