Thursday 30 October 2014 17:40, UK
Gus Poyet hopes Sunderland will soon be in a position to flood their ranks with home-grown talent, rather than new recruits.
In order to remain competitive at a Premier League level, big money has been spent at the Stadium of Light on proven performers from around the world.
The hope is, though, that one day the club will be able to promote from within, offering opportunities to the stars of tomorrow and saving the club considerable time and money.
If one day – and I’m not saying it for the sake of it, I promise – if we’ve got a player who is 17,18 or 19 and he’s ready, he’ll play.
The likes of Duncan Watmore and Tom Robson have been involved with the first team squad in recent times, and Poyet wants to see more dropping off the production line and into his plans.
He told the Echo: “If one day – and I’m not saying it for the sake of it, I promise – if we’ve got a player who is 17,18 or 19 and he’s ready, he’ll play.
“If he can perform in the same way he does for the Under-21s, as he does for the first team, then he’ll play.
“But it depends on how you’re doing in the first-team. If the first team is doing OK, then you can put people in. But at the moment, no.
“Robbo travelled with us to Southampton – what an experience that was for him!
“It’s why the (FA) Cup is perfect. I remember last year when I played Duncan and he was running and the people went ballistic.
“I wouldn’t be afraid of playing Robbo against certain teams either. There are things he can do, but things he needs to improve too.”
Poyet is also looking for Sunderland to ensure that mistakes from the past are not repeated when it comes to promising youngsters, with Jack Colback having been nurtured through the club’s academy system only to leave at the end of his contract and join arch-rivals Newcastle United.
The Uruguayan added: “You know what happened in the past.
“We need to make sure we do things a little bit better and Lee Congerton and the recruitment system are trying to make things easier and not find ourselves in situations where young players can leave the club.
“I’m a little bit away from that because even if I go to see the Under-21s, I haven’t been able to see the Under-18s this year.
“I’m trying. If not, I’ll see them in the FA Youth Cup But the idea is to keep an eye on them and see what they do.”
