Young Sunderland first-teamers 'standing out,' says coach

Sunderland's young players appear to be using the under-21s to play themselves into first-team contention.

Sunderland under-21s boss Graeme Murty paid tribute to the four first-teamers who starred in the 4-1 win over Stoke.

Youngsters Isaac Hadji, Abdoullah Ba, Pierre Ekwah and Jewison Bennette were in the Sunderland u-21s team, alongside 15-year-old Chris Rigg and January signing Joe Anderson, as they came out comfortable winners.

Two goals from Harry Gardner, as well as a goal from Ellis Taylor and an own-goal gave the Black Cats a commanding win,

Murty, though, was mainly impressed by the attitude of the first-teamers, and he believes they have done their chances of more Championship minutes no hard at all.

“I think that we were convincing in the way we approached the game,” Murty said. “I think the first-team players in particular were respectful of the game, respectful of the group they dropped into and made sure they pushed on and did things properly.

“I thought that approach and that application lended itself to the situation and made sure we dealt with the football really well. We did all the horrible stuff really well with our pressing and our work rate, and then that let their talent shine and there is some talent in that group.”

Specifically on the first-team players, Murty said: “We just make sure we talk to the first-team staff, liaise with them really, really closely and make sure we're available if they need a platform for the players to play.

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WATCH: Highlights from the Sunderland u-21s win over Stoke

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“It’s a really useful platform, but it’s only useful if they approach it properly so that they can get something out of the game. They have got to showcase themselves in front of the owner, in front of the technical director, in front of the first-team manager.

"They have got to make sure when people get their eyes on them they are standing out and showing themselves in a really good light and I thought they did that. They needed game time so we need to make sure we facilitate that and also it shows our young players what the standard looks like.

“It’s great to see 15-year-old Chris Rigg play with first-team players because that’s where he wants to go and where we want to project him. We have to make sure this is as rich and as valuable a learning experience as we can make it.”

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