Walker and Co at RS , should ask Adkins , will they ever be a " pathway " for young Diego , and if not why not .
Simple answer to a simple question would suffice . Save a lot of conjecture , on whether or not he is the Mr Big Billy Bollocks .
Ruthless game football . I would give him a go , if he doesn't cut the mustard , fuck him off and get rid.
UTB
I'll save you Walker & Co and Adkins the bother. I've added in the odd sentence, but all of the Adkins stuff has been gleaned from what he has said when interviewed on De Girolamo, and his approach to playing the youngsters.
Q: "You've given the like of Whiteman and Calvert-Lewin some games in recent weeks. Diego De Girolamo has been scoring goals in the Under 21s of late – before the season's over, might we see him given some game time?"
NA: "I've made it clear over the last year that our commitment is to have a path through our youth team for players to get into the first team. That's what this club is about, and it's what I'm about. I'd like to think I've worked with young players who have gone on to do very well. I've said all season that we've needed to reduce the squad size so that we can create that pathway, and now we've had a number of players in recent weeks that I've been able to involve in the matchday squad.
"One of the first things when I arrived last summer as you'll remember was that I wanted to speak to all of the players here and give everyone a clean slate, and Diego had been out of the picture and was out of contract. We made it clear then that we thought he clearly has talent, which is why we gave him a two year deal, but we also made it clear that it's also important for us to have people with both the attitude and ability to do well for Sheffield United Football Club.
"Diego's been unfortunate with injuries in his time while I've been here. That's part and partial of learning what it takes to be a professional football. Up till recently, he hasn't been consistently fit. But it's not just what you do when you are playing but away from the pitch too – eating the right foods, going to bed at the right time, giving yourself the best chance of performing. But also giving your maximum in every single training session. That's the kind of thing that I'm talking about because that's what it takes to make it in the game."
Q: "But is he doing that for you? Would you consider giving him a place on the bench ahead of Conor Sammon for example, who hasn't scored lately and is only on loan till the summer?"
NA: "Conor's been very patient, and has also been consistently putting in the graft in training. That's why I gave him the opportunity the other week at Millwall. Now things haven't always gone for Conor this season, but he's always worked hard and I feel still has a role to play this season. He and Diego are very different players, and I've made it clear that I've wanted to give Billy & Che a run together."
"We have a lot of confidence in our young players here, at Sheffield United Football Club. That's why I've been looking to get more involved in the squad lately, those that have displayed the professional qualities we're looking to build the team around going forward. Attitude is the big thing for me. Yes, we want athleticism and people that can get round the pitch. But the biggest thing is having people who are hungry, who want to improve, learn, and get better at what they do."
"All of the players here have to work hard. We have a set of youngsters involved in the first team here that are hungry and want to learn, and sometimes they'll make mistakes. But that's only natural, and they'll learn from these sorts of situations in the arena."
