Adam Lawrence (ManUtd): "That has been a fantastic education for all of us"

PSV are delighted to have Manchester United return to the Otten Innovation Cup, and we managed to catch up with their trainer/coach Adam Lawrence, and defender Reece Munro to chat about their time here in Eindhoven and the tournament.

Thank you very much for coming to the Otten Innovation Cup once again, how have you found the tournament?

(Adam Lawrence)
It's been fantastic for us. Obviously, in this preseason period, it just exposes the players to a real high level tournament and playing against players on the international stage, and different types of teams, and that has been a fantastic education for all of us in a real high level tournament. So it's been fantastic.

And what about some of the rule changes? They're a little bit different here than perhaps what you see in England...

(Adam Lawrence)
Yeah, listen, I think when you come to these things, you've got to be quite open minded to new ideas and different rules in different formats in the are games, but definitely, in terms of some of them that have been introduced them, we found found them really good in terms of the games that we played in. Obviously, it speeds up the games in certain elements as well, things like being able to dribble or passing from a throw in, etc. And again, you know, exposing players to that different sort of format is good for their education and development as well. So yeah, really, really positive, but different.

Managing and working with the youth team on a regular basis as you do, how do you find managing the expectations of players, especially at a club, like Manchester United?

(Adam Lawrence)
Yeah, I think first and foremost, you're just working with young people and young players that are obviously trying to do their best and progress to the highest levels that they possibly can. So we try and be very more focused around the individual player and their targets in terms of their strengths, development areas, etc. Ultimately, we know that it's very difficult to produce Premier League and international standard players. But at our club, we do have the track record and the tradition of players being able to come through the club, which is obviously great. And then the players just maximizing their time at the club to whether they progress into the first team or whatever helps them on to the next stage of their careers, then obviously, that would be success as well in their lives.


Manchester United, obviously has a huge, rich history of developing youth players. How have you found playing for Manchester United and attending a tournament like this?

(Reece Munro)
Yes, it's been really good. I think it's been a really valuable experience coming to the Otten Innovation Cup, great opposition and teams, it develops new experiences, we've gotten closer as a team playing good football. I think it's really good.

And what about the rule changes? How have you found them? Are they better for you? Or have they've been a bit of a challenge?

(Reece Munro)
I think it's been better to be honest, it speeds up the play. Definitely more time, you know, ball in play time, which is good. And obviously, you want to be playing football a lot more. And yeah, just adapted really well, I think as a team, not let it you know, get the better of us, and we've taken advantage of it. So I think it's been good. Yeah.

And we've heard Adam talking about the youth development and Manchester United. As a player, how do you find the training at and the development as a player?

(Reece Munroe)
Yeah, it's really good. Like, obviously, the whole in on the individual. And then they work us as a team. And I think it's really good, like good coaches and stuff and everything. And, like really good development. They work on developing players a lot. And you see that through, like, past few years, with players like Marcus Rashford. And, you know, more recent players coming into the team now. It's just really promising to see. So yeah, it's really good.

It's lovely to have you both here at the Otten Innovation Cup. Have PSV have looked after you?

(Adam Lawrence)
Yeah, the hospitality from everyone at the club, and the other teams as well in terms of just meeting them, and spending some time with each other, has been excellent. So nothing but positives. From that I'm very proud and privileged to be asked to sort of attend as a club. And amazing to be part of this type of tournament. So brilliant. Thank you.

Is there any takeaway from any of the other teams you've played or perhaps you've watched, that you'd love to adapt in to the English style of football?

(Adam Lawrence)
Yeah, I think every opposition, and every game here has posed different sorts of problems and different challenges. Because it is a high level tournament. We fought the Copenhagen game, particularly in the start of the game yesterday, we thought they were very good just in terms of their style, their shape, the way they handled the ball, that gave us a few tactical things to problem solve as well. But the general level has been really high and obviously a good exposure for us as not just as players, coaches, the staff, etc. So yeah, lots of good challenges.

Well, thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of the season and your time here.