Normally in the competitive world of football, an easy run in a cup competition would be welcomed with open arms. There are countless examples of luck going against every team in the world, so a favourable cup run is never to be sniffed at.
In the Manchester City academy, though, the coaching staff tasked with shaping the next generation of Blues insist on giving their players the toughest tasks possible - and welcome unfavourable cup draws if it gives those players new challenges to overcome.
Take the UEFA Youth League, for example, where City resume their European campaign this week away to Hajduk Split. After overcoming Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen in the group stage, a testing draw away in Croatia has been welcomed within the academy.
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"The dynamic of it is fascinating," says Elite Development Squad head coach Brian Barry-Murphy in a chat with MEN Sport.
"It's really exciting. The randomness of the draw means we've topped the group and performed really well but now go away to an opponent who progressed to the last stages playing in a very convincing manner. They'll no doubt be very confident on their own patch. Everything is in their favour in essence and against us.
"For us that provides a supreme test of our best young talent, and that's what we want. We get the chance to play in this Champions League as a result of what our first team do, they qualify so we play with a free pass. We don't have to qualify. It's a unique privilege and one we have to really make sure the players are clear on - that it's an amazing experience and we have to make the most of it."
With the Youth League split into two sections - a group stage that mirrors the Champions League fixtures as Barry-Murpphy references, and a 'champions path' for clubs whose senior side didn't qualify for the Champions League but their youth sides were successful at academy level. With that in mind, City are keen to prove they are worthy of being in the knockout stage as an under-19 group, not simply because the senior side qualified for Europe.
Barry-Murphy continued: "Yeah, I think [we have a point to prove]. In the way that we see the first-team players and management all the time, the way we act and behave has to be so clear and defined, irrespective of how tough that comes. For me, there's been loads of significant moments in the group stage where we were tested and looked like we'd get beaten.
"But we kept fighting and produced performances that allowed us to win games. That tested the players and difficult situations are the most important things we can provide for the players at this stage of the competition."
In the EFL Trophy, where Premier League academies face League One and Two senior sides, City will request to play any knockout games away from home to give their players new and testing experiences, even if that puts them at a disadvantage. In the Youth League, if City get past Hajduk, they face either Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain away in a potential quarter-final before the semi-finals and final are played in Nyon.
City forward Carlos Borges, who scored three goals in five group stage appearances and registered an assist in every game, noted that the away draws will offer something different to the young Blues.
"We won't have support from the fans at home," he said. "If we stick together we can do well, but it won't be easy. It was tough in the group stage, for example at Dortmund we were winning 3-1 and ended up drawing 3-3. A lot of that I'd put down to the crowd, they were going well and had the home support. That plays a part.
"We don't really know the structure or the teams. It's harder to figure them out. We can only figure out when we're in the game. That's the difference."
The lack of home advantage, though, can be turned into a positive for Barry-Murphy, and he says the last-16 can be a good indicator of how far City have come since their last visit to Croatia in pre-season.
He said: "Without being cliche, it's easy for a young player to think about what's next. If we win here we go to Paris or Dortmund, but it's a very clear message that if we don't perform in Croatia we won't be going anywhere. It's very healthy for all of us. In this level of sport, the minute you get complacent, you're gone. That's very much at the front of our minds.
"Our experiences in Croatia - we went there for pre-season and our last game was against Rijeka and they were at a very high level and the Croatian brand of football was very clear the way they played. We just couldn't handle it. You're testing yourself further down the line to see if your players have improved from that. We think they have, but how much will be clear on Tuesday which is exciting.
"We have standards that our players improve all the time, but you want to test that to make sure I'm not talking rubbish and there's substance behind it! We believe that but how much the players are progressing needs to be tested, not just individually but collectively. Obviously it's not the end of our season if we get beat, but it's a chance for plenty of our players to test themselves against the best in Europe.
"That's priceless, whatever happens on Tuesday will provide a lot of benefits for the players moving forward for the rest of the season."
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