Elliott Dickman has been encouraged by Sunderland under-18s’ recent upturn in form.
The young Black Cats begun the U18 Premier League in disappointing fashion as they lost their opening six fixtures.
However, a valiant point at Everton ended that run before a spirited point at league-leaders Manchester United last Saturday saw the lads put firm foundations down ahead of Saturday’s match against Blackburn Rovers at the Academy of Light.
Speaking to safc.com the under-18s coach hailed the attitude of his players and admitted he has been pleased with the way his side have improved.
“We have constantly given the players messages and we always knew it was going to take the first-year scholars a little bit longer to settle into the programme,” he said.
“But they are showing signs of being there or there about now and they are showing signs that they can handle the tough regime and the demands we ask of them.
“The first years are probably ahead of where we would usually expect them to be but we have just got to make sure we aren’t over doing it.”
He continued: “We are hoping they come into their own after the Christmas period.
“The last two performances have seen us be in decent positions and for whatever reason we have just haven’t seen it out.
“In all of our games we have had some sort of disappointing spells in the game and it’s all about ironing that out now."
