'Proud father' Gary Hamilton excited by latest crop of young Glenavon players
Last updated on .From the section Irish
Glenavon boss Gary Hamilton says he feels like a "proud father" while watching his young players develop - and warned more are set to emerge.
Teenager Jordan Jenkins hit the winner as the Lurgan Blues returned to the top of the Irish Premiership table with victory over Glentoran on Saturday.
That followed Mark Sykes scoring in Northern Ireland Under 21s' win against Slovakia last week.
"We started a system six years ago which is paying off," Hamilton said.
"When I took over we wanted to encourage 14, 15 and 16-year-olds to be playing in the reserves and not just 18 and 19-year-olds.
"It has meant Glenavon have produced more Northern Ireland Under 21 internationals than any club in the country during those six years.
"We have had the likes of Mark Sykes, Joel Cooper, Rhys Marshall, Bobby Burns, Shayne Lavery and James Singleton in the side, while Caolan Marron was on standby for the most recent squad.
"There is a lot of quality in that list and, while a few have got their move across the water, I can't for the life of me see why nobody has taken a chance on the others. But there will still be opportunities if they keep their standards up.
"I went to watch Mark at Windsor (against Slovakia) and I was like a proud father because we have put a lot of time into these lads and given them the platform to play."
More young players set to emerge
While many of the young players are now well established at Mourneview, Hamilton revealed that there are teenagers on the fringes of the squad who will be pushing for first-team places soon.
And the former Northern Ireland international insisted that he will continue to look for every opportunity to introduce them to the side when they are ready.
"We have plenty more young players on the back-burner," Hamilton added.
"They might find it a little bit more difficult to break into the team at the moment as we are going so well, but we will use competitions like the Mid-Ulster Cup to blood the youngsters.
"Ross Hunter, for example, has been playing in the reserves since he was 14 and played in the first team in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the Mid-Ulster Cup last season.
"He has scored regularly and is an incredibly talented young boy who I think very highly of. I have high hopes for him if he stays at the club."