In our victory over Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon, the average age of the Bluebirds’ starting XI was 22.4.
Defenders Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor have heavily featured, while Dakarai Mafico made his First Team debut against the Millers.
Having played a huge part in their development, we caught up with U18 head coach Tom Hutton, who discussed the encouraging impact that those players can have on our current Academy prospects in every age-group.
“You have to capture the positive environment around the Academy with the current group that we’ve got now,” Hutton began.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to work with a lot of those players in and around the First Team at the moment; we have huge respect for Brian Barry-Murphy and his staff for giving those opportunities and putting trust in them.
“The boys have followed through and delivered on that, and they will continue to do so. We have to capture this positivity with the players and draw on our experiences of working with some of those lads to try and impart some of that knowledge of when they were scholars to try and inspire the next generation.
“It’s a hugely positive time for the Academy, but it’s no surprise for us. We’ve worked with them for a long time, and they will continue to give everything they can for this Club.”
One of the standout moments of the campaign so far was Kpakio’s strike on the opening day against Peterborough United, as his first senior goal proved to be the winner.
Hutton added: “Ronan is someone that we’re very proud of. Seeing things like his goal against Peterborough United can only inspire the boys to think they can go on and achieve that.
“You have to have that belief as a young player because that breeds confidence, and when you’re confident you know you can improve a lot more.
“There’s a real trust in the youth and that will inspire the next crop of players to follow in their footsteps.
“We try and preach it to the boys every day. If you work hard, the opportunities will come.”