The Irish squad has been stretched by injuries, illness and club commitments but Crawford believes some of the players he has in Slovakia this week can emulate the likes of Alan Browne and Ryan Manning by progressing up the football ladder.
“Alan Browne and Ryan Manning were two players that were on the fringes of the international scene when they were first capped with the U18s a couple of seasons ago and they’ve made great progress since,” said Crawford.
“Playing at international level and being challenged was a real springboard for them in their personal development and their careers. You’d like to think that there may be another Alan Browne or Ryan Manning in this group.
“We’ll know well by the end of the week how far along the players are in their development. When you are playing the likes of Czech Republic, Russia and Turkey that is serious opposition with serious numbers of players to choose from.”
The difficulty in assembling his squad has been a challenge to Crawford but he believes they can make an impact this week as they open their campaign against Czech Republic in Modranka (2:00pm Irish).
“It’s been difficult enough assembling a squad with players getting injured and not being released but we’re happy with the players that we have here,” He said.
“They’ve performed well with their clubs whether it’s been in the SSE Airtricity League or with UK clubs. They are all still getting to know each other but they’ve settled in well.
“Some of them are still learning in regards to how we set up and it’s going to be an interesting week for the players, the staff and also Tom Mohan who is coming over to observe the games and is preparing for next season’s U19 level.
“The players have all worked very hard and will face a huge volume of games in a short period of time so everybody will play and despite being an inexperienced squad they’ve done well up to now.
“I’ve watched five or six games from this Czech side. They have exceptionally good players particularly on the counter attack and commit players to attack but we’ve got a game plan for them.
“It’s going to be a difficult game no matter how well you prepare because of the quality of the opposition but if the lads can produce similar performances to how they did against Netherlands and Germany in November we should be ok.”
Republic of Ireland U18 Squad
Goalkeepers: Mark Travers (Bournemouth), Edward McGinty (Sligo Rovers)
Defenders: Alec Byrne (Cork City), Aaron O’Driscoll (Southampton), Warren O’Hora (Bohemians), James McSweeney (Cobh Ramblers), Rian O’Sullivan (Brighton & Hove Albion), Callum Mollett (Walsall)
Midfielders: Anthony Scully (West Ham United), Dan McKenna (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Jack Keaney (Sligo Rovers), Callum Nicell (Leeds United), Kian Flanagan (Crystal Palace), John Martin (Waterford)
Forwards: Aidan Keena (St Patrick's Athletic), Dean Dillon (Shamrock Rovers), Neil Byrne (St Patrick’s Athletic), Thomas Byrne (Drogheda United), Shola Ayoola (Stoke City), Josh Hogan (St Patrick’s Athletic)
FIXTURES
Monday, April 24: Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland, Modranka (KO 14:00)
Tuesday, April 25: Republic of Ireland v Russia, Dunajska Luzna (KO 10:00)
Thursday, April 27: Republic of Ireland v Turkey, Dunajska Luzna (KO 10:00)
Friday, April 28: Classification match, TBC
via GET Sportonline
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