Elliot Myles pushing for first team
Elliot Myles is making steady progress in his bid to break into Norwich City's first team under Philippe Clement. The youngster has already made four senior appearances, all under former head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup, but chances have been limited since Clement took charge last November.
According to The Pink'un, Clement has challenged Myles to improve his work without the ball, a key area for competing at Championship level. The 21-year-old is responding to that demand but faces stiff competition from midfielders Anis Ben Slimane, Paris Maghoma and Oscar Schwartau.
Olly Lee on Myles’ development
Under-21 boss Olly Lee is working closely with Myles to refine his game and prepare him for senior football. Lee says the midfielder is increasingly effective in the final third and improving his defensive contribution.
Focus on work rate and consistency
Lee told The Pink'un: "He's really getting more effective in the final third, which we know he's got undoubted quality, and more effective without the football. Which is so, so important to be a top-end Championship player or Premier League player, whatever his goal may be, you've got to be really good out of possession and without the ball. And he's improving on that every week."
"I want to just keep driving his standards up. And he's got to go and push and push and push and get in the manager's eye line as much as he can, because there's top players ahead of him and he's got to try and kick them out the way."
Myles taking ownership of progress
Lee emphasises that Myles’ improvement is down to his own commitment as much as coaching input. The player understands where he needs to improve and is focused on doing so.
"Mostly it's Elliot putting the work into Elliot. It's full credit to him for the work. He's really got a focus on that," Lee said to The Pink'un.
"He knows what he needs to be better at. He knows how he needs to improve. And he's thinking about it every day and he's not going to be perfect. He's not going to get it right every time. (Against West Ham U21s) he did it well. We need more and more and more of that."