First-year scholar Sam Brown praised Rovers U18s togetherness after taking a convincing 3-0 victory over league rivals Notts County in their final pre-season friendly.
Max Adamson and Will Green got on the scoresheet at the Hoober Homes Elite Performance Centre before Brown’s fellow first-year Kenneth Imariagbe added the final goal.
After rounding out the summer with consecutive wins, the midfielder felt his side responded well to the last test of the pre-season games programme.
Brown said: “It was a really good win against Notts County, a really hard test for the lads with tired legs but I think we all stuck together and we got through it with a win.
“Personally, I thought I played well but it was more about the running, our off-the-ball play, and putting our work from training into action so it was a good shift for us."
Having completed his first pre-season in full-time football, Brown was relishing the challenges ahead for both the team and himself.
He added: “I’ve loved pre-season. It’s been tough with a lot of running but now we’re getting towards the fitness levels that we need for the season to start and I think we’re ready for it.
“We’re looking really good because we’ve worked really hard tactically and I think if we can carry what we do in training onto the pitch, we can have a really strong season.
“I want to play a big part this season, keep striving for more, get my name out there and help the team as much as possible.
“Obviously we all want to be pushing towards getting a call up to the first team but as a team we’ve all set ourselves the task of being up there and challenging for the league title.
“The lads know that we’re more than capable of doing that, and Frank wants us to aim for that, so we’ll make sure we’re ready to compete, get our heads down and that should give us as good a chance as anyone of being up there.”
Rovers U18s begin their EFL Youth Alliance League season against Scunthorpe United at the Hoober Homes Elite Performance Centre on Saturday, August 5 (kick-off 11am).