Michael Woud is hoping his team-mates can use the confidence gained from a strong end to the season as fuel to having a successful merits group.
Sunderland under-18s begin Premier League Group C on Saturday against Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle United, kick-off 11am, at the Magpies’ Academy training ground.
Mark Atkinson’s side ended their domestic campaign in fine fettle, collecting seven points from their last five matches to move off the foot of the table at the expense of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But with both Sunderland and Newcastle starting fresh slate this weekend, New Zealand stopper Woud has set his sights on a strong end to an overall challenging campaign for the youth team.
“We set a target for the last seven games that we wanted to start again when Mark (Atkinson) came in,” he said.
“We wanted to see how well we could do in the final games of the first stage of the season and I think we have got better and better.
“The results are beginning to pick up now but with another seven games in the merits it’s another chance to start again.
“We want to finish as high as we can,” he continued.
“We go into this stage of the season confident and we want to do as well as we can.
“It is a fresh start for everyone because everyone starts with zero points and we believe we can do well in this group.”
