Newcastle United youngsters urged to seize opportunity in derby clash with Sunderland
Newcastle United Under-21s will face Wear-Tyne derby rivals Sunderland in Premier League 2 on Friday lunchtime.
Newcastle United Under-21s interim coach Robbie Stockdale has assessed the ever-changing make-up of his squad as he prepares for Friday’s Wear-Tyne derby meeting with Sunderland.
The former Middlesbrough defender stepped into the interim role for the second time this season following Adam Lawrence’s decision to step down last weekend and was in the dugout as the Magpies youngsters suffered a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Benfica B in a Premier League International Cup tie on Tuesday afternoon. Stockdale’s plans for the game suffered a setback just over an hour before kick-off as Magpies captain Cathal Heffernan was withdrawn from the starting line-up as the possibility of a potential move away from Tyneside moved a step closer.
Stockdale was able to call on the services of full-back Leo Shahar once again after he enjoyed a spell in Eddie Howe’s first-team squad and Sam Alabi was also back in action for the Magpies second string - although the England Under-17 midfielder was withdrawn from the action after less than half an hour and replaced by Mason Miley, brother of Magpies star Lewis Miley, after picking up an early yellow card. Highly-rated striker Sean Neave was also unavailable once again as he was an unused substitute in Newcastle’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat against Manchester City.
Rather than complaining about the disrupted preparations for Tuesday’s Premier League International Cup tie, Stockdale fell back on his experience of coaching and managing at several levels and insisted it was all part of the process of trying to get players ready to step into a senior level.
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Opportunity
Speaking after the defeat, the former Sunderland academy and first-team coach told The Gazette: “I’ve done this job at Sunderland and I’ve worked as an assistant manager at senior level. We are always evolving the team. I’m not sure we have played the same players twice in a row and there are loads of different reasons for that. Sean (Neave) is involved with the first team tonight (against Manchester City), that’s the job. It’s just an opportunity for someone else to drop into this team. Particularly at this time of the year, the Under-21s, my experience tells me that it’s always changing. Players going out on loan, players getting sold like we have done. We’ve got 16 and 17-year-olds playing up so that’s the challenge but we will get on with it ultimately the job is to produce players for the first team and that’s what we will try and do.
“On a personal note, it doesn’t half make you think as a coach as well. You’ve just got to roll with it. We are here to help the players that are playing - but also to promote the ones we think can move into our first-team or get careers somewhere else in the Football League and when we do that we should get a pat on the back.”
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