Elliott Dickman is in a buoyant mood ahead of Sunderland under-23s’ trip to Liverpool on Sunday.
The young Black Cats resume their Premier League 2 campaign at Prenton Park, still reeling from last Friday’s opening victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite falling behind, the development team’s performance was drenched in commitment and endeavour which saw the lads come from behind to defeat Spurs at Eppleton Colliery Welfare.
And now, a week on, Dickman has praised the attitude of his players in training and has asked for his side to produce a compact display as they take to the road for the first time this season.
“We are really pleased with the application and character of the team at the minute,” he said.
“They are responding well to what we are asking them to do so they are on a high after the win last Friday and that is great for everyone.
“They have taken that into training this week and we are all pleased with the signs we have seen.
“Sometimes there is a label around youth football that players are soft and don’t deal with setbacks, but we’ve seen improvements in the players recently.”
He continued: “Liverpool move the ball quite quick so we are expecting them to be aggressive from the word go.
“They will press hard, they made life difficult for Swansea who they played in their first game.
“It is going to be tough challenge and an even harder one if they play Danny Ings and other first-team faces.
“They have got some top youngsters in their squad who look a threat so we are expecting nothing less than a tough challenge.
“If we stick to the game plan and stick together for the 90 minutes then hopefully we will make it a tough competitive game.”
