Swindon Town need to discuss the development and plan the next steps of Botan Ameen’s journey, says manager Mark Kennedy.
It’s been an exciting period for Ameen in the first-team squad last week, scoring on his debut against Bristol Rovers and coming on as a substitute in a 3-2 win against Cheltenham.
Kennedy revealed that he’d had a conversation with the striker on Thursday afternoon about his progress and growth following the success last week and emphasised on the need to discuss the next steps.
“I had a chat with him saying that I would really like him to train with us tomorrow [Friday] but he’ll play with the youth team on Saturday so it’s important he trains with the youth team.
“It’s not fair on Woody [Sean Wood U18s manager], himself and I think we need to sit down as a club and map out what his journey looks like at least in the short term, in the next six, seven, eight weeks.”
Ameen was a key outlet in the U18’s FA Youth Cup run last season, scoring a brace against Manchester United in a memorable night under the lights.
The Robins boss continued to describe the schedule and how it could influence the Iraq international's development.
“For example, Monday we’ll have a matchday minus one, second day recovery.
“So what does a Monday look like for Botan? Is it better that he trains with us, is it better he trains with the youth team?
“We don’t want them to have two days of us, two days of them [youth team] and all of a sudden, he’s in a trifle of development.”
Kennedy then discussed the mental side of things, elaborating on how dropping down to the U18s after a good week can be tough to take.
He said: “He’s been outstanding, then he’ll be playing in the youth team on Saturday and it’s very hard.
“I’ve been there, when you’ve scored a goal, he was outstanding in training with us today [Thursday], and then he might play in the youth team on Saturday and really struggle.
“There’s the mental side of things where ‘hang on, I’m training with the first team everyday but I’m not the best player and I’m struggling’ and there’s just so many things that go on so I think it’s a constant conversation of what’s best for the player and what that short term and medium term looks like.
“It takes a lot of planning, but ultimately it has to be what is the most important for the Swindon player.”
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