Former Sunderland coach ready for changes in Newcastle United Under-21s clash
Sunderland Under-21s will face their Newcastle United counterparts at the Academy of Light on Friday afternoon.
There will be a familiar face in the away dugout when Sunderland Under-21s face local rivals Newcastle United at the Academy of Light on Friday afternoon.
Former Black Cats academy and first-team coach Robbie Stockdale has stepped up to take interim charge of the Magpies youngsters for the second time this season after former coach Adam Lawrence surprisingly decided to step down from the role. That came less than 48 hours after his side had suffered a late home defeat against Middlesbrough that left the Magpies with just two wins from their first ten Premier League 2 fixtures this season.
Stockdale, who worked as Sunderland first-team coach under Dick Advocaat and Sam Allardyce, oversaw the first game of his latest interim spell as Newcastle fell to a 5-0 home defeat against Benfica B in a Premier League International Cup tie on Tuesday afternoon. Sam Alabi and Leo Shahar were named in the starting eleven for the game after training with Eddie Howe’s first-team stars and being named in senior squads in recent weeks - but Sean Neave was unavailable after being named as a substitute for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat against Manchester City.
The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.
There was a further setback for Stockdale just over an hour before the defeat against Benfica as Under-21s captain Cathal Heffernan was withdrawn from the squad as a potential move away from Newcastle took a step closer on Tuesday lunchtime. Although Stockdale could be frustrated by the ever-changing makeup of the squad he will work with during his interim reign, the former Middlesbrough defender insisted such changes only present opportunities for other players within the Magpies ranks.
Experience
Speaking after the defeat, the former Sunderland academy and first-team coach told The Echo: “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.”
Your next Sunderland read: Lee Cattermole picks out Sunderland transfer that would leave him 'gutted' amid mounting exit speculation