Middlesbrough's experienced midfielder Barry Robson has heaped praise on the club's youth system for constantly producing fresh talent.
Midfielder feels it is vital for club to continue producing local talent
Middlesbrough's experienced midfielder Barry Robson has heaped praise on the club's youth system for constantly producing fresh talent.
Boro look set for a promotion push this season, with just two points separating them from the automatic places as the halfway point in the Championship season approaches.
The Teesside outfit have produced some quality players through their academy in recent years, with England internationals Stewart Downing and Adam Johnson both shining examples.
This season the likes of Joe Bennett and Matthew Bates have proved their quality and Robson believes there are more players to come from the club's highly-rated youth team.
Terrific job
"Dave Parnaby, Mark Proctor, Colin Cooper and Steve Agnew are all top coaches and they've done a terrific job in bringing such good young players through the system," Robson told
skysports.com.
"They keep producing some extremely talented young footballers and long may it continue because for a club like Middlesbrough it is important that these young kids keep coming through, as you can't keep going out and buying players.
"In today's world climate that just isn't possible, so it is a big part of this football club and it's a conveyor belt of talent that we need to keep going for as long as possible."
Last season Boro struggled to live up to expectations and slumped to a mid-table finish and Robson believes that a rash of injuries was the catalyst for their disappointing term.
He added: "I think that last season was hampered by the number of injuries we suffered, including myself, Kevin Thomson and a lot of others.
"We've managed to keep a lot of players fit this year and long may that continue because it is an important part of a club's season to have that slice of luck in terms of injuries.
"We've got some very good players here that aren't even playing at the moment, but they know that they will have a part to play at some stage of the season and as long as we get to where we want to be as a squad then that is the main thing."
