Rory Whittaker, at sixteen, has already made history as the youngest Hibs debutant. built on a few memorable cameos as a substitute by starting his debut game in a difficult away match against St Mirren. and received recognition for both his talent and his poise from all quarters.
Nick Montgomery can rely on plenty of evidence to support his statement that he has “no concerns” about including the young player in his starting lineup for tomorrow’s visit to Aberdeen. Even while Monty wasn’t quite ready to give his pick for Sunday’s matchup to Dons rival Barry Robson, he didn’t rule out the possibility of Whittaker filling in for the suspended Lewis Miller.
When questioned about the child’s availability directly, he responded, “There are no concerns.” “My exact strategy for leading the team is still up in the air. However, Rory has already played in a number of important games, including the semi-finals at Ibrox and against Celtic, so I have complete faith in him.
The truth is that not all young athletes are able to handle the pressure of competing in a stadium or on national television. There are those who can, and Rory is unquestionably one of them.
“The child is growing every day; along with three or four other young players, he practices with the first squad every day. Young players can be thrown in without any problems at all, which is why they practice with the first team in an effort to speed their development and impart the necessary skills.
One of Monty’s first actions as manager was to promote Whittaker from the under-18s squad to the first team. The former A-League winner did this to instill some of the youth-centric thinking that saw his Central Coast Mariners surprise everyone by winning the title with the youngest team in the competition and the lowest budget in the division. Working with players who, in contrast to certain older pros, aren’t yet certain they’ve mastered every aspect of football is clearly advantageous to the Yorkshireman.
“Working with young players, they’re honest and follow instructions,” Montgomery remarked. They occasionally make mistakes, but that’s how you learn—you make errors.
However, you are aware that youthful players will possess that zeal and vitality. Sometimes the best course of action is to stop that, calm them down a little, and remind them that the game is still the same.They need to be educated, but they also pick up knowledge via experience.
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