Elliott Dickman has demanded more from his players following Saturday’s Wear-Tees derby defeat.
Sunderland under-18s experienced a weekend to forget as they suffered a 5-1 defeat on home soil to Middlesbrough in the Premier League.
Boro led 2-0 at the break and while Dickman went for broke in an attempt to galvanise his players in the second period, the visitors only added more misery with a further two strikes.
Fergus McAughtrie netted a consolation for the youth team late on before Boro had the final say on the clash and rounded off an emphatic display with a fifth goal.
Speaking to safc.com, Dickman couldn’t hide his disappointment, insisting his players must do better.
“It was always going to be a tough game,” he admitted.
“I thought we started the game quite well and we had quite a lot of the ball but we just couldn’t break them down or hurt them.
“We conceded a couple of goals before half-time and it just gave us a bit of a wobble but in the second 45 we tried something a bit different to see if it would work.
“We wanted to see how the players responded, we were hoping for a positive reaction but it didn’t happen so there’s lot to learn from the game,” he continued.
“We have learned a lot about the players and it’s important now we try to develop the players about the experience and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
For ticket information ahead of Wednesday's FA Youth Cup match against Newcastle United, click here.
