Bryan Robson’s message for James Garner & other youngsters ahead of pre-season

Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has asked James Garner to “step up” and prove to his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he is “worthy” of a place in the squad. Robson further urged the other youngsters to show their true colours during the pre-season friendlies. Garner enjoyed a successful second half of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest. The youngster, who returns with a lot of experience, will hope to get the chance to showcase his ability in the upcoming warm-up games, starting with the clash at Derby County on Sunday.

Solskjaer is expected to rely on a lot of his younger players during the first part of pre-season. It can prove to be a blessing for the likes of Garner. “It’s always good to see the lads who have been out on loan,” Robson was quoted as saying by the club’s website. “Then the younger players coming through get that opportunity. It’s good to see how well they can do against the opposition we’ve selected for the pre-season games.

“We’ve got a couple of Championship teams and Brentford have just been promoted so it’s always interesting to see how the young boys cope with getting in the first team and playing 90 minutes, sometimes playing with the better players.”

Robson believes Garner is at the age where he can establish himself at the club. “For James, this is it. He has had his education now and is at that age where he can really prove himself this season, whether he’s going to be at Manchester United or go out on loan again. He’s a very intelligent footballer and works very hard at his game. Now it is up to James to step up and prove to Ole he is worthy of a place in the squad,” he added.

Bryan Robson on his role change under Sir Alex

Bryan Robson has emphasised the need for players to adapt themselves as per the demands of the coach. He also revealed that his role was changed under Sir Alex Ferguson. “As a player, you’ve got to work at being able to adapt to what the coach is asking for,” he explained. “With Ron Atkinson, I was, more or less, box to box all the time. Bobby Robson wanted me like that with England as well but, when Sir Alex came in, he wanted me to not get forward as much. You always try to mix your game up and get forward now and again but to sit in to try to protect Pally [Gary Pallister] and Brucey [Steve Bruce] too.

“He tried to get me playing that role, which wasn’t a problem for me. When I was in the youth-team at West Brom, I used to play centre-half anyway. I’m sure Ole is looking to get the right mix in the midfield area now whether it’s players who can pass well and defend well.”

Robson also seems to be happy with the club’s pre-season schedule. “They’re all good matches,” he added. “Sometimes all that travelling in the pre-season, then playing against the best teams in Europe, can be a hard start to pre-season. This one looks as if it’s going to be a more gentle approach.

“Saying that, we still have to fire on all cylinders when we go into the first game of the season. But, because of all the problems, it looks quite a good pre-season without being too strenuous for all the lads. It’s looking pretty good with not too much travelling.”