UNDER-18s boss Carl Fletcher says "keeping a lid on" his players' excitement represents one of his major challenges ahead of tonight's EFL Youth Alliance Cup final at Wigan Athletic (7pm).

Fletcher's young charges set up their DW Stadium date by beating Luton 2-1 in the Southern Area final at Vitality Stadium – a match played in front of 1,400 punters.

Cherries finished the regular season in storming fashion, losing none of their final six games and winning both of the last two 5-1.

Their manager's words ahead of the clash with Wigan, perhaps, give an insight into why they have got this far.

Fletcher told the Daily Echo: "We won our last couple of games 5-1 but we were not entirely happy, as a group, with how we performed.

"There is room for improvement, still, but the things we are looking at now are smaller details than they were at the start of the season.

"If we focus on the performance, generally, the result seems to take care of itself. And that is what we will be looking to do at Wigan.

"In every game we play, we look for a performance before anything else."

Cherries overcame Oxford, Southend, Northampton and Leyton Orient before toppling Luton to seal their spot in the final.

And Fletcher claims everything attached to being involved in this illustrious occasion will feed into his players' future development.

"It is another experience for the boys," added the former Cherries midfielder. "We stayed up there overnight and it is a big thing for them to be able to deal with that, mentally, then go out and perform the following day.

"Playing in big stadiums and in big games is something you have to do to have a career as a professional footballer.

"Our lads have been learning and progressing throughout the season. It was fantastic for them having nearly 1,500 people watching the area final. That is something they can tick off.

"You learn from every experience, be that going down to 10 men, coming up against a foreign team – or, in this instance, playing a cup final at a Football League ground.

"Everyone is looking forward to it now, we just have to try to keep a lid on it until the game."