Sunderland youth boss talks Edouard Michut goal and previews Newcastle United clash

Sunderland U21 boss Graeme Murty has delivered his verdict on Edouard Michut’s first goal for the club and previewed the upcoming clash against Newcastle United.
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Sunderland recovered from an early setback to earn three points in the Premier League 2 fixture against Stoke City as a Harry Gardiner brace was rounded off by PSG loanee Michut later in the game.

“I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable game of football, and that the lads deserved the win for the quality of their play at times,” Murty told safc.com.

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“The boys showed bravery in their press, their intensity at times was excellent, and it sets the standard for where we want to go. It does need to be entertaining but effective as well – we focused in the pre-match briefing about accessing areas where we can be dangerous with our attacking output, and our goals came from that.

Edouard MichutEdouard Michut
Edouard Michut

“It was really pleasing to see the rewards come from the hard work by the lads on working into those areas where assists come from. With H’s goals, it’s nice to see a forward player get within six yards of the goal – that positioning is worth hundreds of goals a season across the leagues. We understand players – particularly youngsters – might prefer to score a worldie goal, but we need to have runners who penetrate the back lines and get into dangerous areas on the pitch to score goals. Edou deserved his goal for his hard running, the sacrifices he made for the team and the goal proved vital.”

Sunderland U21s are next in action against Newcastle United in the Wear-Tyne Derby away from home on Monday at St. James’s Park.

“The group has been really enjoyable to work with so far. They’ve been open and embraced what we’re trying to say. That impact of when they can perhaps ask better questions will come soon, where they’re becoming more comfortable with me.

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“But certainly, the lads are really working hard to dictate the tempo of games and control the manner of the game both with and without the ball. Sometimes they’ll make mistakes, as with Stoke’s second goal.

“We’ve sent a full-back flying on to exploit space in behind, but the ball forward drops short, and our centre-half drops too far and lets their player into the box for an easier shot. So, we need to give him the detail of how to defend that 1v1 situation as an example – that will come. Mistakes are fine, and as coaches, we need to embrace these learning opportunities for the boys, not castigate them.

“They’re all big games for the players, and Newcastle next week will be a special atmosphere. I’m really looking forward to it, as are the players, and it’s another test for them in a new environment. They might be nervous, but that’s great – they’ll have to deal with that in their careers. And we’re looking to build that resilience into the players whereby they can channel that anxiety in the right way out on the pitch.”