Sunderland U23 coach Elliott Dickman is convinced by the quality they have inside the academy.

Dickman has reflected on a season that has been tough for the first team but has seen green shoots emerge from the academy.

He said: “We've been quite lucky our manager's been quite proactive with the young players here,

“They're across training quite a lot, we play games against them (the first team), some of them have made their debuts.

“The argument back could be that some of that might be a needs must, but the fact he's got the confidence to do that can only benefit the young players.

“He's been fantastic with me personally. It's been great to talk football with him and have conversations about players.

“It's a great learning tool for me as a coach and hopefully I can take that back to the players and make them better."