In an safc.com exclusive, Chris Coleman has hailed the club’s young guns and their future potential, while explaining why they hold the key to future success on Wearside.
And despite a baptism of fire during the current campaign, he’s challenged them to continue to play their part here and now, and, ‘by hook or by crook’, help fire the Lads to safety.
Last month, Coleman’s starting XI that faced and overcame Hull City at the Stadium of Light included six players under the aged 23 or under, with the average age of the side just 25.
Ty Browning (23), Jake Clarke-Salter (20), Ethan Robson (21), George Honeyman (23), Joel Asoro (18) and Josh Maja (19) all played their part as the Black Cats mauled the Tigers, and they've all featured prominently throughout the course of the campaign.
Honeyman, who joined the club at the age of eight, has made 35 appearances this season, six more than any other player, with experienced centre-back John O’Shea ranked second in the club’s 2017-18 appearance chart.
Against Middlesbrough, Joel Asoro continued his trailblazing campaign with his second senior goal, as Josh Maja, who opened his account in December, provided the assist.
Fellow academy graduate Lynden Gooch, 21, has scored twice and provided three assists this season, with Donald Love, 23, and Paddy McNair, 22, also on the scoresheet this term.
And Coleman has explained why the current campaign, a tough and gritty one, will battle-harden the club’s prospects and help unlock the potential which will shape the club’s future.
“George Honeyman is only 23 and we also have Joel Asoro and Josh Maja at 18 and 19 playing for us,” said the boss.
“We forget all that but these are young boys who are going to be good – Paddy McNair is only 22 – and there’s a lot of good things here.”
He continued: “I know being at the bottom of the Championship for a club like us leaves a sour taste, of course, but if we can just get through it – by hook or by crook – there’s a lot of good young players.
“Alright, Jonny [Williams] has to go back, but we still have some good young players here that we can build on and build with.
“These experiences and moments when it’s so hard, as I said to Ash Fletcher and Ovie Ejaria, are invaluable and they’re going to be much better at the end of it, as will Jake Clarke-Salter.
“We just have to make sure we get through it the best we can with these players, but there’s a nucleus there of a good team with good young players who are going to get better and better.”