Speakman has spoken about the importance of having a young squad, and he's given an evaluation of Sunderland's youth sides and women's team.
YOUNG SQUAD
"We’ve had a steady amount of involvement in the playing squad, I think everyone can see that. We are really proud that we’ve got a young group, with top senior pros as well. We have to try and improve that team each window, that becomes more difficult because there is quality and potential in our team. So, therefore finding talent that will break into our team is a hard piece of work, but we focus on quality over quantity."
TRANSFER TARGETS
"We are looking at both the January and Summer window together in order to make sure we identify the right targets and deals. At the moment we are trying to improve on our weak performances, we are in a really good league position and we don’t want to put a ceiling on what we can achieve this season. Despite this, we are also realistic in terms of where we think we can improve and when we think the improvements will happen."
STILL ADAPTING
"We have taken some young players from different leagues and different continents, you have to give them time to adapt and grasp a better understanding of the culture around the club. We want to try and integrate them into the team, and it’s getting the balance right between developing young players and having a team that’s ready to win games. Tony has done a great job at getting those players involved with the squad, and we have to try and give the young players an opportunity. That said, they also have to be driving standards and earning the right to play. Whilst we want to be an open door for young players to get first team opportunities, they have to be training and working hard in order to knock someone else out of the side."
ACADEMY
"Our academy program is going from strength to strength behind the scenes, and it was well documented that we were a little bit behind the curb when it comes to the structure of our academy, and all the staff have done incredible work without that leader to keep the program moving forward. Putting Robin Nicholls in place finalises our football structure, and he is the final member of our management team. Robin has had a really good start, and he understands where we are at and has quickly come to terms with what Sunderland is and where he can hold value. I am looking forward to working with him."
YOUNGSTERS
"We’re really pleased with the performances from our youth teams, what’s been more pleasing is the number of young players who are playing in a higher age group. We’ve had some really young players in and around the first team games. Whether they be on the team sheet or warming up with the first team, it's a great experience for them because they won’t be surprised by anything that happens on match day. It will make the transition a lot easier for them."
WOMEN
"The Lasses have done some really good work, and we’ve probably not had the results to show for that. Behind the scenes there has been lots of investment in the Women's team and the under 21 group, and that’s continued all the way through to the new year. We are in that really strong position now, where you have that infrastructure behind the group and they can kick on. It will be a turbulent period in terms of on field results, because of where our squad is at this moment in time, but it’s something we are always looking to improve."
KEEP WORKING HARD
"We’ve still got loads of room for improvement, and we are pleased with some of our on pitch successes. We want this to continue and we want to keep improving, behind the scenes we still have lots of process work to do, to try and ensure we are the best at what we do. From a business side there is lots of improvement work that has been scheduled. We are laser focused on improving and we are all geared up to get involved with the improvements on and off the pitch. Hopefully people will see that in all facets of the football club."
