Under-21s boss Wayne relishing return to former club
Mon 22 September 2025, 23:08|
Tottenham Hotspur
Under-21s Coach Wayne Burnett takes his team to one of his former clubs, Plymouth Argyle, in the Vertu Trophy on Tuesday night (7pm UK, live on Sky Sports+).
Wayne spent just over two years as a player at Home Park between 1993 and 1995, helping them reach the Second Division play-offs at the end of his first season there in 1993/94.
The former midfielder says he’s excited about returning to the south coast with his young charges as we look to earn victory and boost our hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament, which sees Under-21 sides from top-level clubs facing senior teams from the EFL.
“I’m looking forward to it,” smiled Wayne. “I’ve not been back there for quite some time so I’m excited about going back. They’ve developed one or two of the stands at Home Park since I was there but it’s a ground that I like, the supporters are very passionate and they get right behind their team. I played there for two-and-a-half years and I have some good memories.”
Since our draw and subsequent penalty shootout loss to Bristol Rovers in our first match in this season’s Vertu Trophy last month, Plymouth have beaten Cheltenham Town 2-0 at home, putting them top of the early standings in Southern Group B. Wayne knows victory for us on Tuesday will be important if we’re to maintain a chance of getting through to the next stage.
“In order for us to qualify, we’re going to have to go there and get a good result,” he said. “We’ve got a point from the first game and obviously Plymouth won their first game, so it’ll be two teams determined to get a victory to progress. It’ll be a good test for our players and one that we’re looking forward to.”
Tickets for Tuesday evening’s match are available via Plymouth Argyle’s ticketing website.
Supporters based in the UK will be able to watch the game live on Sky Sports+.
Live text updates will also be available via our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app.
