HARRY Kewell says that exposing A-League youth sides to men’s football is the best thing for youngsters’ development and something that is stymieing English football.

Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City’s youth sides are playing their second seasons in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, having previously played in the National Youth League.

Kewell has just finished his first season as youth coach of English Premier League side Watford, and his team plays only in an under-21 league.

While the youth teams of German and Spanish clubs play in the second or third men’s leagues, English youth players can play against men only by going out on loan to lower-tier clubs.

“I think that’s a brilliant idea, fantastic,’’ Kewell said.

Harry Kewell gives instructions at one of his coaching clinics in Melbourne. Source: News Corp Australia

“The problem is managers look at young kids coming through and because they don’t have that experience they feel they’re not ready yet.

“Some kids don’t need it, they can step up. Others need time to get adjusted.

“The Chelsea 18s won the FA Cup, they were phenomenal, they had the best of the best, as do their 21s. But there’s no competition, even against PSG, Real Madrid.

“Where do they go? How do they better themselves? That’s why they go on loan and play against men. It’s important for players to understand it’s no longer kids’ football, it’s men’s football.

“I was thrown in young, but not everyone gets a chance. When you step up, you need to be able to handle yourself. A lot of kids find it hard to voice their opinion, they feel intimidated.’’

The former Socceroo was in Melbourne last week running clinics for the Harry Kewell Academy, and admitted he was a much better coach than a year ago.

“I love it. Big lesson in football, a big learning curve,’’ he said.

“Coaching’s not easy. You have ideas in your head and it’s about projecting them and making people understand them.

“Some boys didn’t understand me and that was a lesson for me. It’s made me a better coach because I had to look at myself and make sure I covered all areas, showing diagrams and video clips rather than just turning up for training. There’s a lot more work involved.

“It hurts to lose, but I’m definitely a better coach than I was at the start of the season. I don’t swear — some people only hear that.

“You’ve got to make sure you have the right people behind you.’’