As we all know, it's the international break for the first-team squad at the moment.

And while our Under-18s team do have a fixture next weekend, several of our players are off with their countries also.

Jose Baxter has been selected for England's Under-17s and Jack Rodwell for the Under-19s and will both play in the Uefa Championships for that age group.

Eunan O'Kane is with Northern Ireland Under-19s, and Shane Duffy is with their Under-17s. Nathan Craig is also off to link up with Wales' Under-19s.

I'm sure some of you will have watched the Victory Shield on Friday, which finished in a 6-0 victory for England.

Our player Ross Barkley scored the third goal, and he was also unlucky with a header which could have given him a brace. He's still only 14 and he played very well in the game.

After watching that game on Friday night, I watched our youngsters take on Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Under-18s and then watched some of the Under-16s. I returned in time to see the last 25 minutes of the 18s - and I think I caught the best bits.

For the first 10 to 15 minutes we were well on top.

Georg Krenn comfortably converted a penalty, which I thought was going to be the first of many goals in the first half. But then we went flat and they got more and more of the game.

Then a defender was left unmarked in the box for Blackburn from a corner, and we allowed the opposition back into the game - which was very disappointing from our point of view.

We started to struggle and I went to watch the Under-16s and when I returned for the last 20 minutes of the under 18s game Neil Dewsnip said Blackburn were still edging it. As I returned though we had the better of the chances, and so I guess the draw was a fair result.

Watching the 16s gave me plenty to think about. Many of them have been told that they were coming to us full time, but the boys who have been picked need to improve because we were very disappointed with their performance.

On the first-team side, everybody's disappointed at losing two goals. But two academy products started - and we finished the game with four. It was nice to see Victor Anichebe make his 50th substitute appearance.

Looking forward to out Academy games against Stoke City at the weekend, it's always a tough physical encounter. They are strong, powerful and in your face. We know we’re in for a real challenge on Saturday - but we've plenty of time to prepare, and that’s what our programme is all about.