Sunderland boss explains why he's playing Chris Rigg slightly out of position - and why it's not permanent

Mike Dodds says that playing Chris Rigg out wide is the best way to introduce him to the intensity of Championship football, and says that he has no doubts that the 16-year-old will move infield in time.

Rigg has established himself as a regular in the side over recent weeks, impressing against some high-calibre opposition. He has played the vast majority of his football to date either as a ten or as a central midfielder but is currently playing on the right flank, with the freedom to drift infield and join in with Sunderland’s build-up play.

Sunderland’s interim head coach says it’s a common way to let young midfielders settle into senior football.

“I don't see that as his position [in the long run], I don't,” Dodds said.

“Centre-halves don't normally get debuts until later on, midfield players sometimes, you normally find debuts are wide players because - I'm generalising here because I don't know the facts and figures - wide players or outside of the pitch would see more debuts because they're less pressurised areas of the pitch.

"I think as a 16-year-old to play Riggy in the middle of the pitch, is a lack of care for him and his development. I think him playing out wide and rolling inside is a perfect balance between trying to find him the ball. Trying to get him to show everyone what he can do, but also, not put him right in the melting pot if that makes sense. If you go through a lot of the England team, where do they make their debuts? A lot of the debuts are outside of that cauldron.

"I think eventually, he'll be a midfield player,” Dodds added.

“He'll naturally evolve into that, but at the moment for his development, I think we're doing the right thing as a football club in terms of giving him the game time he deserves, but also managing where he plays on the pitch and adapting the team slightly to try and help him show us what he can do.

"I think I got asked after the Bristol City game [0-0 draw] around some of the young players. I will, in this spell or whether I go somewhere else, I will never shy away from playing young players because that's my background. I gave Riggy his league debut against Leicester. I'm not saying some managers wouldn't do that, but to play a first year scholar against a Premier League team [Leicester] and then to play him again against Southampton, highlights how much trust I have in him.

"That's not about me, the point I'm trying to make is he's earned that trust with me, he's earned that trust with the players. What I think is a really interesting dynamic, is you name Riggy in the team and no one is going 'oof'. They trust him and that's a lot of credit that he deserves. Our responsibility is to keep him grounded. Our responsibility as the football club is to keep him on the path that he's on. If he does that, he gives himself a real opportunity."