YOUNG defender Lee Hodson brings us his final diary from the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland.

The tournament came to a close yesterday (Friday) and Hodson was part of the side which triumphed over Hearts to ensure a third place finish.

However Hodson and the rest of the squad were disappointed to lose at the hands of the eventual winners, Manchester United.

Lee tells us about the final 24 hours in Northern Ireland.

"We came out against Manchester United and were determined to give it a really good go. Unfortunately we let ourselves down a bit with the goals we conceded from set pieces, that really was disappointing.

"I think they thought they would have an easier game that what we gave them though. We were up for a fight and wanted to win so badly.

"We didn't take all of our chances at the other end either but Piero Mingoia did well scoring twice.

"Overall in the tournament we did well and there wasn't a huge amount of difference between ourselves and them. We certainly gave them a run for their money.

"Against Hearts we played some good football and deserved our win.

"We've come to the end now and all of the lads are certainly tired. Playing five games in five days is tough but it will certainly make sure we're fit for the start of the season.

"There's been a few knocks throughout the week but everyone is fine and looking forward to a couple of days rest.

"We've got Sunday and Monday off which will be a good time to relax.

"I think this tournament is going to help us during the season. With the Youth Cup this season, even though there's some top teams involved, I would like to think that we've got a chance of winning that.

"Adopting a winning mentality is really important and in a cup competition like that hopefully what we've learnt this week will come to the forefront.

"We're all looking forward to the start of the league games too and we want to start strongly and make an impression this year."

Click here to see highlights of the Milk Cup at the excellent BBC Northern Ireland mini site - including some of the Hornets! 

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