Leeds United Under-21s rounded off a transitional season as they narrowly missed out on advancing to the Premier League 2 Play-Offs on the final day of the season. After lifting the inaugural National League Cup towards the end of last term with a far more experienced side by Academy standards, Scott Gardner’s team pivoted to a much more youthful look, with the aim of giving the club’s best prospects as much exposure as possible early on in their fledgling careers.

“We have tried to push younger players up for the last couple of years and we have increased the challenge this year as well with the actual games programme,” the U21s boss began as we sat down to reflect on the campaign.

“We definitely noticed in later rounds of games that you can see that they are starting to get used to the tempo and the pace of the U21s football. Going into next season, we are a little bit ahead with them which is where we wanted them to be so it is very exciting for us.

“Hopefully, we will be starting the season in a position where the players know us well and we know them well. We have already got targets of what we want to do with them. So, instead of getting to around Christmas time, we should hit the ground running really and we are really looking forward to getting them going after the summer break.”

The Whites competed across four competitions this season, with fixtures in the Vertu Trophy and National League Cup providing opportunities against experienced, senior opposition alongside tests against some of the country and Europe’s best emerging talent in the Premier League 2 and Premier League International Cup.

“We knew going into those competitions, particularly the EFL Cup, that we were playing good, established first team sides with a very, very young group,” Gardner added. “The intention was to give them that opportunity and that experience early.

“We knew it was going to be difficult and, again, they are ahead of where they should be had we not been in that competition. We look forward to potentially being in that again next year and using it as another experience for the younger group.”

Those experiences have put the players in good stead as they look to take their first steps in their fledgling careers, notably on display recently when youngsters Rhys Chadwick, Jayden Lienou and Alfie Cresswell, having often been around first team training all season, featured on the bench for Daniel Farke’s side against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Lienou, a Wales U19 international, arrived from Manchester City last summer and has excelled in his first campaign at Thorp Arch. Further incomings included the likes of defender Louis Enahoro-Marcus and forward Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher, bolstering an exciting crop of talent with signings from some of the best youth systems in the country.

“We have obviously got the new faces like Jayden who have come in and they offer something completely different to what we have had before and I think they complement the rest of the players, particularly the younger group coming up. We are excited to see where they can go.”

Elsewhere, other prospects have headed out on loan to gain valuable experience in the senior game. Scotland U21 star Rory Mahady made 19 appearances in goal for National League outfit Scunthorpe United, helping the Iron finish in the Play-Offs.

While it was a tough season for South Yorkshire’s Rotherham United, Harry Gray shone for the Millers. Having netted 11 times in 13 matches under Gardner to begin the campaign, the January switch to the New York Stadium brought 20 Sky Bet League One appearances, a handful of goals and a fantastic learning curve for the striker.

Discussing the importance of that exposure, Scott added: “There comes a point where the U21s football provides a certain amount for the lads but after that they do need to go and experience senior games and they will be much better and more experienced as players and as people. We have also had six or seven lads around the first team training group so for them to be around Premier League footballers every single day can help them improve them as players.”

Gardner, himself a product of the youth setup at Thorp Arch who went on to represent the first team, welcomed former Whites captain Jonny Howson into the fold last summer, with the vastly experienced midfielder joining him, assistant Michal Pujdak and the rest of the backroom staff in a player-coach role.

Speaking in an earlier exclusive interview, the ex-skipper discussed the pride of helping players realise their potential and overseeing their transition from junior football into the professional game. Those thoughts are shared by the U21s boss, who finishes by highlighting the important work going on throughout the Academy.

“That is why we are in the job. We are really fortunate that we have the support that we do as a collective. We wouldn’t be doing the hours that we do if we weren’t excited to see players progress and that is what we want to do. Every group from U9s all the way up to Rob [Etherington] and the U18s, they are doing a really important job to provide players for us at the U21s. And then for us, it is about trying to get them to make that next step with our first team.”