Blues boss Paul Jewell has high hopes for Town’s current batch of academy scholars and says they’re not just decent players but nice guys as well. Last week Russell Osman’s U18s came close to beating Chelsea at their Cobham training ground, the match eventually ending 3-3.
Jewell said: "I think Russell deserves huge credit because the youth team are the nicest bunch of guys we’ve had for a while, they’re really pleasant.
"We got a nice letter from the hospital the other day telling us that they were the nicest bunch of footballers they’ve come across, which is nice because normally all you get is people telling you how horrible your players are! We’ve got some good young players and we’ve got high hopes for a few of them.”
Left-back Joe Whight has already signed a two-year professional contract and a number of others are making their mark, including 17-year-old Icelandic midfielder Gunnar Thorsteinsson, who has appeared in the reserves on a number of occasions since joining the club in July and could be in the team which is taking on Watford at Playford Road this afternoon (KO 1pm).
Jewell said: "I can’t even say his surname. I call him Gunnar. He’s done really well, he’s a terrific professional and under the guidance of Russell they’re coming on leaps and bounds. We’ve got high hopes for a lot of them.
"They were 3-1 up at Chelsea last weekend, even though they eventually got a 3-3 draw, but they’re making progress.”
The Town manager says he’s still to decide whether Northern Ireland U21 international striker Caolan Lavery, who could also be in action for the reserves this afternoon, will be offered a professional contract.
The Canadian-born 18-year-old, who has netted five goals in seven Premier Academy League games so far this season plus a further four for the reserves, had his academy scholarship extended until this month after he suffered a knee injury last season.
Jewell said: "Caolan is one we’re going to have to make a decision on sooner rather than later; whether we’ll give him a contract to the end of the year. But of late he’s progressed really well.”