Andy Welsh is revelling in the thought of Sunderland under-21s’ return to action tonight at Seaham Red Star, kick-off 7:30pm.
The development team pitted their wits against some of the best academies around last season and pushed Manchester United all the way for the U21 Premier League crown.
While a late dip in form saw their title hopes fade, Welsh was left delighted at the end of last season as a cluster of youngsters made their first-team breakthrough.
That has left the under-21s coach with a new-look side ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, and while he admits that poses obviously challenges, he is relishing what lies ahead.
“The lads have been excellent and their intensity and work rate has been first class,” he said. “They have had a very tough week and now that has led us in nicely to our first game against Seaham.
“We have got a young group this year and it is nice that we have had a host of our players go over to Austria and train with the first team.”
He continued: “That has left us with a young group to begin pre-season but the lads have done incredibly well and now we are looking forward to our first test.
“Getting some game time is essential and they will all be getting minutes in. It's vital everyone gets a chance to play at this stage of pre-season and that will hopefully set us up nicely for the start of the new campaign.”
