Derby County manager Paul Warne has said that the academy players are doing ‘great’ but need to be performing for the academy if they are to be given more chances in the first team.
The Rams beat Wolves’ under-21s 4-1 on Wednesday night with the academy starring, with Dajaune Brown, Adebayo Fapetu and Darren Robinson all starting and performing very well.
Fapetu was lauded as ‘impressive’ for his performance on the night, whilst Robinson was praised as ‘tidy’ at the back.
All of Derby’s five substitutions on the night were also academy players, with the youngest being 16-year-old Cruz Allen.
Warne demands youngsters to do one thing
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph ahead of their clash with Barnsley on Saturday afternoon, Warne spoke of how well the academy players are doing.
“The academy are doing great and trying to get them into training more if we can. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t because you have to be respectful of their schedule as well. But it is about trying to get chances with the first team and they have to earn it really.
“If you train with the first-team squad then you have to be better than four or five of them. If you don’t, then you don’t get a chance by default.
“By getting fitter, stronger and performing for the academy, I’ll speak to the academy managers, they’ll say ‘he’s doing really well, let me show you the clips’.
“If we don’t sign an attacking player in January there might be a chance to step up, we have an FA Cup game next week so I don’t want to sign players who are not better than ours and also don’t block the academy. It looks like to me there are some real shoots of improvement and growth.”
Youngsters to play more often?
The academy players have been knocking on the door for more appearances in the first team for a while now.
None more so than Brown, who Warne did bring off the bench in the draw with Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Warne may have to start playing these players more though in order to give them more reason to stay, with Robinson the latest players to be linked with a move away, with the 18-year-old’s contract one of many that expire at the end of this season.