Mark Atkinson believes there is no reason why Sunderland under-18s can’t collect their third straight win this Saturday.
The young Black Cats face a trip to West Bromwich Albion, reeling from their double derby success – defeating both Middlesbrough and Newcastle United in November.
And with three wins from their last four matches in all competitions, Atkinson is in a buoyant mood ahead of this weekend’s trip to the West Midlands in the U18 Premier League.
Speaking to safc.com, the youth team boss hailed his side’s character as key while admitting they last weekend’s clean sheet provides the perfect platform to build from.
“Confidence is very high in the group at the minute,” he said.
“Since the Everton game which was a really poor performance we have improved.
“That is the main thing because we have made improvements in every game.
“That is obviously what it is all about and we are starting to win games and that helps with the confidence.
“Winning games helps improve players even more,” he continued.
“Getting a clean sheet last weekend is something we have spoken about before.
“First and foremost, we want to be difficult to beat when we haven’t got the ball.
“The lads deserve it after their work, especially the back five because they worked really hard for that against Newcastle.
“But over the last month in training and (Anthony Patterson) Patta made two big saves at crucial times.”