Watson 'Looking At The Bigger Picture'

By Dominic Scurr

Under-18s coach Dave Watson insists he isn't concerned about his Newcastle United side's form following a 2-1 defeat at Stoke City.

The result means the young Magpies have now gone almost three months without a win but Watson remains insistent on focusing on the positives during the team's 2016 plight.

"Results-wise it sounds like it has been really difficult for us," he told nufc.co.uk.

"But I don't really see it like that because we have to look at the bigger picture, which is the performance and development of our players.

"We've been competitive in most games and at the moment we're brining players through and helping them advance which is the most important thing at this level.

"You want to win but if we have to sacrifice a bit of quality and experience in certain areas in order to help players progress, then that's what we do."

As the Academy season draws to a close, many players are making the step up to the next age group and Watson was pleased with how his new-look team coped against the Potters on Saturday.

"Considering what we had team-wise (against Stoke), the lads did very well," he continued.

"We had five under-16s players in the team but I thought they put in a good performance. Right from the start their attitude was great and they moved the ball around well and played the better football.

"Unfortunately Stoke were just physically stronger than us but all things considered I was pleased.

"We're a bit short of numbers with players moving around but I don't think it really impacted the game too much.

"It was still a harsh result on our lads, we should have came away with something from the game.

"Stoke had one effort on goal in the second half when we were chasing the game. They went 2-0 up but we got back into the game. Mackenzie Heaney scored a great goal and from that point on we were pushing for another.

"It was a game that we could have possibly even won but we just ran out of time in the end."