Be patient plea on young Albion stars
Monday 31st May 2010, 1:29PM BST.
Youth team coach Keith Downing today urged Albion fans not to put pressure on the club’s young stars to break into the Premier League frame.
Downing admitted promotion back to the top flight for the first team has increased the challenge for the youth teamers looking for promotion to the senior ranks. But the former
Wolves midfielder, who now manages Albion’s under-18s, is still encouraged by the progress of his young charges.
He said: “The bar has been raised and the standard goes up.
“The success of the first team in giving us Premier League status means there is a massive gap for these boys to bridge.
“One or two have had a taste of it and they will want more so extra work has to go in.
“But we have to be very careful that we don’t set the targets too high and we have to be sure we are very calculated in our progression.
“We’ve got sensible people here coaching and a manager who realises what it takes to be a first team player.
“So we’ve got to curb the massive enthusiasm and be careful what we hope and wish for.
“But I just hope these boys make the steady progression that we expect them to and if that puts them in the first team or on the edge of the first team that’s a fantastic bonus.
“If not, it’s for them to develop by another year and use that experience for them later in their careers to get what they wish for.”
And Downing has reflected on a successful season that has seen a number of youngsters on the first team fringes.
George Thorne became the youngest Albion player since Bobby Hope in 1960 when he made his debut at Sheffield Wednesday.
He said: “Chris Wood and George have been well-chronicled and exposed to the big league but Sam Mantom and Ryan Allsop and others have all been knocking on the door and it’s been a successful year.
“I think the five years that this academy has been set up are coming to fruition and it shows how much work has gone on behind the scenes.
“We’re seeing the fruits of it at the moment and long may that continue.”
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