Tottenham academy centre‑back Malachi Hardy has opened up on his pre‑season experience after starting two consecutive games for Spurs.Tottenham Hotspur only conceded their first goal of pre-season in their latest encounter against Sydney in Australia.It was a goal that required a slice of luck for the Australian outfit after Kota Takai‘s attempt to intercept a through ball fell kindly to Sekine, who made sure to punish Spurs’ mix-up at the back.Aside from that, the Tottenham backline has been close to perfect, having kept clean sheets against MK Dons and Auckland FC in their previous encounters.Credit: @tristram pearson/InstagramMalachi Hardy grateful for Roberto De Zerbi’s trust in pre-seasonRight at the heart of the defence has been youngster Malachi Hardy, who has been one of Tottenham’s standout performers in pre-season this summer.The young centre-back started on the bench against MK Dons in Spurs’ first game of pre-season but has since started the last two matches against Auckland FC and Sydney, respectively.After earning two consecutive starts, the youngster has now opened up on how pre-season has gone for him so far under Roberto De Zerbi.Speaking to Tottenham’s official media channels, Malachi Hardy reflected on the confidence the head coach has shown in him, the support he has received from his teammates and how that backing has helped him settle into senior football.He said: “Yeah, it’s going really well. I’m thankful to the manager for showing a lot of trust in me. A lot of the boys are getting behind me and supporting me, so I feel like when I come on, and when I start, I know that I can just be comfortable doing what I usually do. Yes it’s been really good.”Roberto De Zerbi praised Hardy and the academy crop earlier this week: “Luca is a big talent, very young, big talent. Malachi [Hardy] is another good player for the future of the club. We cannot forget the young players, especially for the new rules, the financial fair play, or the rules of the Champions League, Europa League. And then we have to improve our academy. We have to help them produce more players, because we need it and it is important for the club.”Asked about being recognised by the manager when he speaks about the squad and what that does for his confidence, Hardy added: “Definitely, it’s always nice to see the manager like fully acknowledging what you’re doing so. Yeah, hopefully that keeps coming.”Hardy pleased with Sydney test and excited by pathway for Spurs youngstersThe game against Sydney is one Tottenham could easily have won in normal time given the number of chances the Lilywhites created.However, they were unlucky in front of goal and were forced into a penalty shootout, where they came out on top.Hardy managed 78 minutes of action before being substituted, but was adamant that the test against Sydney was a valuable one.He said: “Yeah, definitely a really good test. I think we did create the more chances and we did look the way better team to be honest, but yeah, a really good test good to get out there. Good to compete and being a challenging game ready for the season.”The centre-back also believes the involvement of several Spurs youngsters in pre-season games will boost the confidence of other young players coming through the academy.Speaking to the club’s official media channels, Hardy also explained why seeing academy players feature regularly for the first team sends a positive message to those hoping to follow the same pathway in the future.He continued: “Looking forward, especially for the young ones looking up to us as well, they know that there’s a pathway, there’s opportunities for all of us like seeing today, I think there was quite a lot of us that came on and the game before. So it’s promising for the future. We know that we can be around it, and I think we’ve settled in quite well so it’s good.”Finally, he rounded off the interview by expressing his hope of featuring for a third consecutive match when Spurs face Chelsea next.He said: “I hope so we would have to wait and see.”READ MORE: Tottenham still there as Eli Junior Kroupi transfer race becomes £85m four-way tussleThe post ‘There’s a pathway’ – Malachi Hardy reacts after De Zerbi publicly praises Tottenham starlet appeared first on Spurs Web.