Our Under-21s return to action on Friday evening following a long lay-off due to the international break. Leicester City are the opponents at Kingsmeadow in what is our first outing since October 2.

Tottenham Hotspur, the early leaders in Premier League 2, were 4-2 winners that day. A reaction is required from Mark Robinson's side.

One player who has featured under Robinson is midfielder Sam Rak-Sakyi. He has outlined his thoughts on the campaign so far and his preparation going into the clash against the young Foxes.

‘There has been good improvement in my overall game, especially on the defensive side, with my pressing and aggression in challenges. I am still trying to work on it, but there has been good progression and that makes me happy.’

He continued: ‘It is always important that when you get to this level of football, you are mentally and physically prepared. I was not starting at the beginning of the season, but I always kept my mind and body ready to be called upon at any time.’

Sam’s older brother is former Chelsea Academy player and current Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

He left Chelsea at 16 years old, continued his progression, and now has four appearances in the Premier League for the Eagles. Understandably, Sam uses this as motivation for his own personal development.

‘I talk to my brother and he gives me a lot of advice. Seeing him begin to get more minutes with Palace has been a factor of motivation for me, because he had similar setbacks to me.

'He has been able to overcome them and it helps to motivate me when I go through my own setbacks.'

Rak-Sakyi added: ‘It helps me keep going. He would sometimes talk about how he used to struggle for minutes in the youth team and how tough it was, but he overcame it so it gives me the confidence that I can cement my place in the team.’

Another factor in the midfielder's recent involvement in the starting XI is Robinson, with Rak-Sakyi highlighting how he has flourished under our Under-21s' boss coaching methods.

'Robbo has helped me to understand the game better as a whole in terms of being effective on both sides of the game,' he says.

'Offensively and defensively, he talks a lot about how he needs to be able to trust the players he starts, to execute the game plan, and I feel like I have started to gain that trust, due to my consistency in training.

‘Robbo is very passionate about everyone’s progression and improvement as players and as people. It makes it easier to talk to him if there are any issues to discuss.’

Rak-Sakyi's work on the training pitches at Cobham has been recognised; he recently received the ‘trainer of the week’ award and has trained with the first-team squad too.

‘It is always good to be recognised for you hard work in training and I do not take that for granted. I want to be in contention to win that award every week and be in contention to start every game possible.

'As a team, we are young this year, but we do play good football and I want to be a part of that and play a big role in our success this season.’

Rak-Sakyi also discussed his targets for the rest of the season and highlights that consolidating his place in the starting XI is of the utmost importance.

‘I do not want to ever feel comfortable,' he says. 'Now that I am in the manager’s mind, I want to continue to progress on and off the pitch and make it difficult to name a team without me in it.

'It will not easy as I have fantastic teammates in my position, but I still want to be as effective as possible, adding goals and assists to my game.’

You can watch Sam Rak-Sakyi and our young Blues at Kingsmeadow on Friday. Kick-off is scheduled for 7pm and tickets are available. Full match highlights will also be made available following the fixture.