Travelling with the Nike Academy squad to Paris was a real eye-opener into the inner workings of how a group of players cope with a tough trip abroad.

One could be forgiven that a couple of winter days in the French capital would be a chance to rediscover some joie de vivre - with footballing matters a mere accompaniment.

How wrong you would be though. From the moment the squad met at 6.30am at the Eurostar terminal in London it was obvious that every player had a steely determination in their eyes that gave the message - 'I'm out to impress'.

Over the course of the two days the squad took part in a number of training sessions at Paris St Germain's Camp de Loges.

Both Nike Academy and PSG coaches put them through their paces before the culmination of the trip - a crunch clash with a PSG XI.

The hard work paid off as against a strong reserve side fielded by coach Bertrand Reuzeau, attacker Chase O'Neil grabbed the only goal of the game to earn the Nike Academy boys a battling 1-0 victory in bitter conditions.

But it was not just matters on the pitch that were important. For these youngsters aged 18 to 20, it was for the majority of them their first trip abroad in circumstances where they were under scrutiny.

As the two days unfolded the true benefits of the outing became apparent. The players slowly became more relaxed in each other's company and as they did so, their performance in training improved.

While at the end of the day they are competing with each other to be noticed in a highly competitive industry, there were no rifts in the camp and a real team bond began to emerge.

Nike Academy Director Huw Jennings was quick to point out that the way the players handled themselves off the pitch throughout the trip was equally as important as their performance on it.

Professionalism

"This experience isn't just about on the pitch. We find out a huge amount about the players and the way in which they manage themselves," he said.

"How do they manage the downtime for example? If you're going to be a senior player then you've got to demonstrate you're able to deal with downtime.

"Your lifestyle management is critical to success. Can you take on board being away from your natural habitat? Can you show that you've got the ability to play in a foreign setting with players of a different cultured background?

"Can you set the same level of performance that you can in comfortable surroundings domestically?

"The game is so international but it's fair to say that most domestic youngsters only experience playing with foreign players when they get into professional clubs. To be prepared for that as a younger player is really important."

This is a view echoed by Nike Academy Performance Director Jon Goodman, who also emphasised how important a trip abroad is in a youngster's development.

He remarked: "When they get their opportunities they're probably going to have to travel somewhere, make their own arrangements there. They're not always going to get hotels overnight and be rested and raring to go.

"The trip has been excellent in terms of the bonding experience that they get, the facilities that we get and the quality of the coaching.

"Over the course of the season they mould into a team and it really showed last year that doing trips like this accelerates the process. They spend time together, they become more comfortable with each other, they become more honest with each other and they start to bond."

From a reporter's view, it was interesting to see the facilities on offer at PSG and compare them to that in the Premier League. One cannot be critical of our set-up in England, but the sheer size of the base at Camp de Loges was particularly impressive.

Pitches of different sizes and different surfaces stretched out across the affluent suburb of Paris, and for the Nike Academy squad to have the chance to use them was a real privilege.

It made you realise just how big an operation it is to produce a factory line of young, emerging talent - and there is no doubting PSG's record of producing top quality players over the years.

Goodman added: "What you notice is the sheer scale of the facilities. It's great - a very different style of coaches, very relaxed, possession-based training sessions.

"There's some wonderful stuff going on in English football, there's some wonderful stuff going on in French football.

"The French share knowledge and work towards the common goal of better football. That's a real challenge for English football - I wouldn't suggest one is right and one is wrong."

Meanwhile, Nike Academy Head Coach Dean Smith was similarly praising about the setup. He said: "The strength of PSG is there to be seen. They get an 80 per cent success rate of people coming through their system. They start at 14 and go right through.

Different style

"The players' experiences of coaching from the Paris St Germain academy coaches will be unique for them because they've got a very relaxed style about them.

"It will be good to learn from them instead of just us. It's a good all-round trip for them.

"The game is forever changing, it's getting quicker, and tactically different countries are playing different styles. The culture of football over here is very relaxed and it will be good for them to pick up on that and just relax as footballers.

"Trips like this are fantastic - the team-building, they start to understand each other, they can demand more off each other during matches and during training, and it certainly pushes the standard up."

One thing is for certain, it gave the squad a taste of the life of a professional footballer, travelling across Europe to do a job.

A valuable experience for all was summed up by captain Callum Whittaker, who said: "In the earlier games we were individuals, now we're a team."