Jimmy Shan was pleased to see his side ease into the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, as Aston Villa Under-18s triumphed 4-0 away at Newcastle United.
A dominant first-half saw Shan’s side take a 3-0 advantage into the break at Whitley Park, with devastating play on the counter attack.
The Under-18 Head Coach was happy to see a different side to his team’s game than the one which they demonstrated in round three, and praised the players’ ruthless nature in front of goal.

He said: “Really pleased. We tasked the boys with two things: One, to perform, and two, to win.
“The performance was there in moments. Probably not ideal, in how we want to prepare and how we want to play, but [I am] delighted with the lads.
“I thought they were ruthless in the final third, and we deserved to get the four goals.
“We always know we’re a threat in the final third. Today, we probably played a little bit more transitional football, and a little more on the break and the counter.
“That was a real threat for us. In the previous game, we probably had more control, so [it was] nice to show we can do both facets of the game.”

Shan fielded a slightly more youthful XI than in the third-round victory over Accrington Stanley, with Under-16 Jack McGrath impressing, and capping his performance off with a sublime free-kick to make it 2-0.
The Young Lions boss was happy with the showings of the players who came into the side, and challenged the team to see how far they can go in the competition after the match.
Shan added: “We spoke to the boys and said: ‘You get two hits. A hit as a first-year scholar, and a hit as a second-year scholar.’
“For the second-year scholars, this is their last hit, so we just said to them: ‘How far can we go in the competition?’
“We’re a lot more youthful than we were in the previous round, but we’ve got a process at the football club.
“We plan and prepare the players in a certain fashion, and I thought the boys who came in were very, very good tonight.”