(Image: Matt Watson / Southampton FC)
(Image: Matt Watson / Southampton FC)
SAINTS Under-21s head coach Adam Lallana is relishing the opportunity his side face tomorrow evening when they host Juventus Under-21s at St Mary's.
Lallana's team take on the Italian giants in the Premier League International Cup at 7pm and will have a crowd Saints hope can exceed the 10,000 mark cheering them on.
It will be a chance for fans to watch the latest crop of Saints youngsters live in action in what the head coach is hoping will be a memorable experience.
"Really exciting," Lallana told the Daily Echo a little over 24 hours before the fixture. "I was fortunate enough to be at the Real Madrid game last year and what a great event it was.
"In the end it worked out with the last minute equaliser. Hopefully, the fans can come and there can be 10,000, 11,000, I think, with walk-ins and the lads can put on a performance.
"I think it's good preparation for the lads for hopefully what the next steps in their career are, where they've got to perform in front of fans. It's not just 400, 500, it could be 6,000, 7,000, 8,000. It's going to be a special night for them.
"It's great playing at St. Mary's as well. It always feels different when we're playing in stadiums against obviously European opposition, top quality, classic Italian team.
"They played Middlesbrough in this competition a few weeks ago so we're really well prepared. But yeah, they're a classic Italian team. They'll be very physical, very strong, very organised, and I'm sure they'll have an idea to cause us a problem."
At Staplewood, where the focus today is on the Under-21s ahead of tomorrow night and thereβs another #SaintsFC graduate on the front cover of a magazine in the reception. π https://t.co/Cq8WWP3b2W
β Dan Hargraves (@DanJHargraves) October 19, 2026
Lallana, who took permanent charge in January following Tonda Eckert's promotion to first-team manager, has produced a side that have proven to be an entertaining watch in the early stages of this season.
Premier League Cup wins by four goal margins against Blackburn Rovers and QPR have been amongst the stand out results, as well as a bonkers 6-5 victory against National League outfit Boston United.
More:Ehibhatiomhan continues to impress as Saints under-21s thrash QPR
"As a whole, we're in a really good space. A lot of confidence," Lallana affirmed. "We've been scoring a lot of goals, probably conceded a few too many away at Boston. But we only conceded seven attempts. So it was a bit of a freak game, really.
"These international games, historically, we've kind of struggled against European opposition that are normally good technically and they often play in leagues against men opposition.
"Obviously, we don't have that luxury here. So coming across against a team that, a few dark arts, a bit streetwise, is good for us.
"The lads are always learning. They're at an age where they're going to make mistakes, and not just footballing mistakes, mistakes off the pitch.
"They're still learning who they are, who they want to be; what's really important in development.
"It's not always the technical, the tactical, the physical. A lot of it is the application, how you train every day. The habits that need to become second nature to them.
"The very best do the basics extremely well. That's what my experience told me. So when you explain that to them, they look at you a little bit like, 'really?' Football is quite a simple game, actually."
π Juventus U21 ποΈ St Mary's Support #SaintsFCU21 in the Premier League International Cup π ποΈ https://t.co/f02EsEwIKQ https://t.co/UNCzaD1X5S
β Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 24, 2026
Saints are in a variety of competitions and, although the message is to win, Lallana's main objective for his players focuses on the bigger picture.
"First and foremost, it's development," the Under-21s boss insisted. "But winning helps development, for sure.
"But for me, just educating the players on what the next level is, what it feels like, the reality of it and I feel like I'm in a good place to kind of teach them that.
"It's only been a year and a half since I've been out of the game so I still have that feeling inside of me of what it needs to look, sound, smell like in and around the grass on a day-to-day basis."
Tickets are still on sale online on the official Saints ticket website with entry for under-18s free and adults Β£7. There is also no booking fee.