Elijah Morrison and Jamie Knight-Lebel both featured for Bristol City in their pre-season win over Newport CountyElijah Morrison and Jamie Knight-Lebel both played for Bristol City against Newport County(Image: Rogan/ Bristol City)

Gerhard Struber has shared his verdict on Bristol City youngsters Elijah Morrison and Jamie Knight-Lebel following the Reds’ pre-season win over Newport County, admitting the Robins will use the next two weeks to monitor the pair’s progress as they look to find the right “mix” of youth and experience.

Having kickstarted their friendly schedule with a win over FC Farense during their warm-weather training camp in Portugal and two 60-minute behind-closed-doors matches against Bournemouth last weekend, City welcomed the Exiles to the High Performance Centre on Tuesday lunchtime.

Of course, results are not the priority in these matches, which are primarily used as training exercises to prepare for the new campaign, but the Reds did manage to score late on to beat their League Two opposition 1-0. Morrison was the man to find the net with what was one of the final kicks of the game as he converted following an interchange with Scott Twine inside the penalty area.

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Both Morrison and fellow academy graduate Knight-Lebel were introduced at half-time by Struber as the Austrian made nine changes during the interval, with only Joe Lumley and Jason Knight featuring on both sides of the break.

Throughout the second half, the two youngsters impressed, and their head coach is keen to give them the opportunity to showcase their ability between now and the season opener against Sheffield United in a little over two weeks’ time.

“I think all the players, they are extremely invited to show in the pre-season what is in the tank,” Struber told Bristol Live when asked how Morrison and Knight-Lebel would fit into his plans this term. “Right now, I can see Elijah and also other very good players, and Jamie Knight-Lebel is also a very interesting young kid.

“We will see how they grow in the next two weeks, and we also know how difficult a Championship season can be, so we need a good mix between hungry young boys and also, a little bit of experience.

“I think the mix could maybe make the difference.”

After being handed his Championship debut by Liam Manning in the penultimate game of the 2023/24 campaign when he came off the bench late on as the Reds beat Rotherham United, fans were excited to see more of Morrison last season.

Supporters then got another couple of glimpses of the teenager in action when he had brief but bright cameos against both Leeds United and Sheffield United in October and November. However, the left-sided defender only made one other substitute appearance in the remainder of the campaign.

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Despite often being without Cam Pring through injury, Manning appeared reluctant to throw Morrison into the fold and often started the right-footed Ross McCrorie out of position instead of the teenager.

Knight-Lebel, on the other hand, managed to enjoy a campaign of regular first-team football, but that valuable experience came whilst on loan with Crewe Alexandra. The Canadian international played 38 times for the Railwaymen in all competitions, scoring on three separate occasions to help Lee Bell’s side to a 13th-placed finish in League Two.

Since he arrived in the West Country as Manning’s successor, Struber has made no secret of his desire to utilise the Robins’ academy, as he has done at other clubs throughout his career.

Over the years, the Reds have prided themselves on their development of youth talent and in Morrison and Knight-Lebel – alongside plenty of others such as second-year scholar Louie Derrick, who featured against Newport – there appear to be players ready to make an impact in red and white.

The entirety of Struber’s squad, including some of the younger players, will have another chance to impress their head coach in the coming days when City play both Cheltenham Town and Plymouth Argyle over the coming weekend. Two separate sides will feature across the two matches before the Robins wrap up their preparations for the new campaign against Real Valladolid at Ashton Gate next weekend.

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