After a weekend off from playing, Exeter City's under-18s are back in action this Saturday as they travel to Northampton Town.

Nicky Ajose's side are still looking for their first victory of the season after the opening of the campaign has been blighted by poor results and injuries to several members of the squad.

Nicky Ajose's thoughts

Just because there hasn't been any games doesn't mean Nicky's team hasn't been out on the pitch, as City's Under-18s manager explained to us that he's used the last week productively out on the training pitch.

"It's been good to get on the grass, get some good work into the players," Nicky said.

"We had a game on Wednesday that was postponed so that gave us more time to train which was good, hopefully we'll see the positives from that at the weekend."

One of the benefits of having more time is being able to work with the players on a one-on-one basis, something which Nicky said is the most enjoyable part of his job.

"If I could work with every player individually every day, I would do. 

"In every practise we do, there will be an individual focus, players getting targeted during the session, but when you have just one or two players in session, you have more time, the player can feel more relaxed, there's a different feeling around the session."

Onto Northampton at the weekend, the young Grecians will be facing another stern test as they look to earn their first three points of the campaign. 

"They have a lot of threats at the top of the pitch, a lot of athleticism, speed. All these things that make it difficult to defend against.

"Our backline is going to be tested for sure, so we're going to have to find ways of making the game on our terms."

Hear more from Nicky ⬇️

Northampton Town Under-18 results so far

• Northampton Town 3-3 Luton Town - EFL Youth Alliance Cup
• Forest Green Rovers 3-2 Northampton Town - EFL Youth Alliance League
• Northampton Town 2-3 Oxford United - EFL Youth Alliance League
• MK Dons 5-0 Northampton Town - EFL Youth Alliance Cup
• Bristol Rovers 1-2 Northampton Town - EFL Youth Alliance League

Defender Liam Cartwright's preview

A few months in to the first year of his scholarship with the under-18s, defender Liam Cartwright shared his thoughts on the under-18s start to the season as well as the transition from school to full-time football.

"It's been challenging for us, it's been hard to try and find a way to get a win," Liam said about the start of the season. "There's been little sloppy mistakes and errors that we need to fix to get it right."

After signing his scholarship and finishing year 11 at the beginning of the summer, Liam is now over three months into his time playing full-time football for the under-18s, balancing playing and training alongside studying at Exeter College. 

"It's a different environment, you're a full-time footballer, you're in every day, it takes time for your body to get used to it. 

"It is challenging but it's good being in every day doing something you enjoy."

Hear more from Liam ⬇️

How to follow

Lineups, half-time and full-time updates will be posted on the official Academy X account, @ECFC_Academy.