Players Are The Priority

Manchester United Reserves coach Warren Joyce may not be the sort of person to pursue the limelight but his record at the club stands up to any level of scrutiny.

The fact the Barclays Under-21 Premier League title was clinched with a game to spare last term provided further evidence of his ability to obtain positive results on a regular basis even though he and manager Louis van Gaal are keen to stress player development is the priority and not the final scoreline on any given matchday for the second-string side.

Joyce is always keen to relay his belief that, if players do their jobs properly, with and without the ball, then success will inevitably follow. He is extremely proud of the number of footballers who have come through the system at the Aon Training Complex and are making a living out of the game - and rightly so.

Some 46 players appeared in Joyce's team in 2014/15 and yet league success was still achieved. It was the second time United have won the trophy in its three-year history. What is more, in 2013/14, the Reds also reached the final of the nationwide competition, only to be edged out 2-1 in the final by Chelsea. So the youngsters are certainly acquiring a winning habit as the Manchester Senior Cup was also retained last term, courtesy of a 4-1 away thumping of Manchester City.

"From my seven years here, we’ve won the league three or four times and won the national play-off championship as well," commented Joyce. "I think the only couple of times we haven’t won it, we’ve been runners-up. The boys over the last few years have done tremendously well.

"If you look at the past five or six years, an awful lot of players have gone on to leave the club and do well for themselves by having a good career and we’ve got some into the first team here as well.

"Obviously, to get in the first team here you need to be getting past world-class players who also want to stay at the top of the tree and want to win things. It’s why they got here in the first place. They are not going to give up their role in the team and it’s not easy to get past them for young boys. They have got to be almost perfect – if we lose two or three games, we could be out of the title race or out of the Champions League.

"So that’s the level of attention to detail we need – we need the players to know their jobs. Over the years, we’ve been accustomed to winning things. Those are the demands placed on the club.

"We want to play a certain way as well but obviously you don’t always have the luxury at Reserves level of playing people in the right positions. We’ve had people spend a lot of time out of position and they’ve adapted and done that really well. Over the course of the season, I think every player improved."

Joyce will work with a fresh group of players in 2015/16, although the exact roll call will not be fully resolved until after the pre-season exertions. The hope is that some of the title-winning Under-21 players can push for promotion to van Gaal's first-team squad - the manager has already indicated he will give some young players a chance to impress on the pre-season tour of the United States. Meanwhile, Paul McGuinness anticipates a chosen few from his Under-18 party may be ripe for elevation into the Under-21s.

Whoever ends up in Warren's squad will find themselves working with "a fantastic coach," according to club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Treble-winning striker took charge of United Reserves with Joyce after calling time on his playing career and says his former colleague does not want to court publicity or take too much credit for his achievements.

"He will probably hate me talking about him," Solskjaer told ManUtd.com. "So I won't praise him too much because he doesn't like it. But he is a fantastic coach. Nicky Butt and all the budding coaches at Manchester United can learn from Warren because he comes to the job from a different perspective.

"Even though I played for United, it was only when I started to work with Warren that I realised how much of an eye-opener it would be for me. I really learned a lot about how to coach and we still have our discussions on football. If I need an opinion on a player, he is the best person to give it. But he hates the spotlight!"

Whether he's assisting first-team players who are looking to rediscover match rhythm, integrating younger charges or selecting an ever-changing line-up, Joyce will knuckle down again ahead of the new season and aim to ensure those working under his tutelage iron out any rough edges and develop their games. Adnan Januzaj and Andreas Pereira are just two players who have clearly benefited from the coach's demand for more work off the ball and it has helped them become much more rounded individuals, combining their natural flair with much greater awareness of their defensive responsibilities.

"There were a lot of pluses and a lot of successes," said Joyce of last year's title-winning campaign, in which Pereira was named United's Reserve Player of the Year. "Players improved – the lads who went out on loan did well. They had a taste and are on course and progressing well. After a summer to work on their bodies, they will come back with a new challenge for the new season. We’ll start from scratch. That’s the way football is."

Working tirelessly to develop individuals, engendering a team spirit and striving to achieve more success, Joyce will be looking to ensure he can continue to produce the sort of footballers Manchester United can be proud of. The hard graft will commence again at the Aon Training Complex when the players return from their close-season break in the coming days and Joyce's plans for 2015/16 will be carefully put into place.