'He is the one' - Sunderland coach urges U21s trio to 'land like Chris Rigg' in first team
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Sunderland U21s coach Graeme Murty has admitted that he views first team sensation Chris Rigg as the blueprint which he would ideally like all of his players to follow as they attempt to forge a path towards senior football.
The teenage midfielder has made a notable impact on the Championship so far this season, and has established himself as a key presence in Regis Le Bris’ side over the past few months. By no means is Rigg the only academy graduate making forays into the senior side, however. On Saturday against Millwall, Sunderland named eight products of their own youth system in their match day squad, including inexperienced trio Harrison Jones, Trey Ogunsuyi, and Ben Middlemas.
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Hide AdBut now that those U21 regulars have had a taste of life with the first team, Murty is keen for them to kick on, follow Rigg’s example, and ensure that they make the step up on a more permanent basis.
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Speaking after a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United on Monday night, he said: “There's more they need to do. Obviously, we have a really, really close relationship with the first team and we talk to them all the time about who's doing particularly well and who's close, and it's great to see them be included. It's great to look at the squad and be so excited by the amount of academy graduates that are in the first team squad. So for us as an academy, it's a brilliant thing for our pathway and for talking to parents and young players coming to our club about what we're trying to achieve. It's a fantastic thing.
“But for the individual player, they have to ensure that they maintain on their path, retain their humility and they continue to continue to work towards not just Saturday, but our long term future in the first team, because that's what we're all aiming for. We want to make sure that they don't just bounce in and out of the two squads. We want to see them go and land like Chris Rigg has done and go and stick there. He really is the one that we need to look at as the example.
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Hide Ad“Obviously, everyone's different, but we want to push them over to the first team - and it sounds really harsh, but we don't want them to come back! We want them to stick and stay there. If we do that, then you know what? We'll have done something really well for them in their career.”
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