Ipswich Town teenage starlets Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam will stay grounded, says Mick McCarthy
Essex-born teenager Flynn Downes has impressed for Ipswich Town in the opening two games of the season. Photo: Steve Waller - Credit: Picture: Steve Waller
Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy says teenage starlets Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam won’t be given too much too soon.
Tristan Nydam, 17, looked assured on his Ipswich Town debut on Tuesday night. Photo: Pagepix Ltd
The midfield duo, aged 18 and 17 respectively, both impressed on their full debuts in Tuesday night’s 2-0 Carabao Cup first round win at League Two side Luton Town.
Downes had also looked the part when replacing the injured Andre Dozzell midway through the 1-0 home win against Birmingham City on the opening weekend of the new Championship season.
“They won’t be showered with riches immediately, which I think is the biggest problem in football,” said McCarthy. “If they play games their contracts will go up. That’s how they are structured here and that’s the way it should be.
“The problem is when clubs go ‘let’s protect them, give them five grand a week’ and the next thing you know there’s an AMG Merc parked in the car park and the Range Rover with the big wheels and fluffy dice in the mirror. They’ve gone then. That’s when you need to bring them back down to earth, but that’s not going to happen with these two.
“Young players can very quickly get knackered if they play every week and if they end up out of the team at some point they will be disappointed, but they should have that glow knowing they’ll get another chance.”
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McCarthy gave substantial game-time to homegrown full-backs Myles Kenlock and Josh Emmanuel last season and has also blooded teenage midfielders Teddy Bishop and Dozzell during his time in charge at Portman Road.
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“There is always a bit of a fanfare when the kids get in,” he said. “Then you get ‘he’s never played the kids before’. Give me one reason why I haven’t played them before? It’s as plain as the nose on my face why.
“If we produce players that are good enough then they’ll get in the team.
“Trust me, I love it when they get in the team as well. It gives everybody a bit of a buzz. You hear the older pros talking about them and appreciating them. It’s great for the academy and the club.
“Monty Patterson and Ben Folami (both strikers) have trained really well with first team recently too.”
He added: “They’ve got some great examples to look at and learn from in Skusey (Cole Skuse), Chambo (Luke Chambers) and Garns (Joe Garner).”
