CHRIS COLEMAN denies that Sunderland’s young players could suffer irreparable damage from being thrust into a team that is struggling at the foot of the Championship.

With a number of senior players unavailable because of injury, Coleman is having to rely on the likes of Jake-Clarke-Salter, Ovie Ejaria, George Honeyman, Ethan Robson, Joel Asoro and Josh Maja as he looks to guide his side to safety.

All six are in the formative stage of their career, and there is a fear that Sunderland’s ongoing struggles could stint their development.

Coleman accepts it cannot be easy for his club’s younger players to deal with the current situation, especially when they are having to handle criticism from their own fans, but the Black Cats boss is adamant they will emerge as better players no matter what happens in the final ten games of the season.

“We’re hanging our hats on Joel Asoro and Josh Maja at 18 and 19, and sometimes they get over-exposed, but it’s needs must,” said Coleman. “We can’t help that.

“We saw Joel come on the other night (against Aston Villa) and he showed a burst of pace and real intensity. He was exciting, but we can’t always go to him. At the minute we can’t anyway because his knee and ankle are sore.

“Nevertheless, it’s good for him. It’s much better for people like Ashley (Fletcher), Jake and Ovie to be here. They’re better in this situation, playing in these circumstances. It won’t be the breaking of them, it will be the making of them come what may. It’s much better for them than playing Under-23 football. That’s a decent standard, but you can’t beat the real thing.”

When Coleman looks back at his own playing career, he is in no doubt that he benefitted massively from early exposure to senior football. He made his professional debut for Swansea City at the age of 17, and made 160 league appearances for the South Wales club before leaving to join Crystal Palace four years later.

“I find it bizarre now that at 22 or 23, lads are still playing Under-23 football,” he said. “I think I had played 200 games by that age. It may have been in the lower divisions, but I was still a professional footballer and I knew the ins and outs of it.

“Sometimes, players come to us from (Under-23) football, and they find it hard to cope with it. Our boys are not finding it hard to cope with, it’s tough for them but they’re enjoying it, and they’ll be better for it.

“These boys will come through it. They don’t know it now, but they’re in the best years of their life. They’ll know it when they finish playing. They’ll look back on it and think, ‘What was I afraid of then?’

“That’s the message I’ve tried to give to them because you can’t get the time back. The Asoros are good enough, they’ve shown that. It’s very difficult for them to do it week in, week out, but in the games we’ve got left, they can make an impact."