Rotherham United manager wants to see more home-grown talents in the first team

The Rotherham-born manager’s first job in coaching was with youth players at his home-town club.

Now on his return in the top job, Hamshaw intends keeping a close eye on the prospect’s in the club’s youth set-up.

Three youngsters from the youth ranks – midfielders Kane Richardson and James Clarke and striker Reece Wilson – were handed first pro contracts last week and do work with the first team.

The boss wants to see more and to that end he’ll be building better bridges between himself and the academy.

“This club should promote youth, it should develop academy players,” he said. “The young player has to be good enough to be in. Some of the changes this summer will be around that: it will be making sure that the links between myself, as manager, and the academy are much tighter.

"We have to make sure we get to see young players. Sometimes the issue is, you have a high-profile young player who is doing really well, he comes to the first-team group for three weeks, doesn't play any games and just trains. Suddenly, he goes off the boil because he's had no 90-minute games, then everyone thinks that he's not good enough, which isn't the case.

"It's about managing that, managing young players' time and making sure that they're all under my eyes and I can have a good look at them all.”

Ben Wiles, from Hamshaw’s native Rawmarsh, came through to do well at senior level, first with Rotherham and now with Huddersfield. Another, Jerry Yates, also came through and has moved on to make a good career.

They’re the exceptions rather than the rule, and nurturing more like them is a game of patience.

“Young players making first team, that's the aim,” added Hamshaw. “You could interview me in 18 months and I don't have one. I'd say that something has failed if that's the case. We've seen so far that we've had a couple of young lads who've been in and around it.

"Look, hand on heart, they're not ready yet to be first-team players – nowhere near it – but it's down to myself, the staff and the academy people to work daily with them and try to develop them as quickly as possible.”