Newcastle United's Under-23 side will conclude their season on Thursday night at St James' Park against Blyth Spartans in the Northumberland FA Techflow Marine Senior Cup.
In a season which started with a concerning 3-0 defeat at Blyth's Croft Park on a balmy August night, it's fair to say there has been a marked improvement from the second string in terms of results. Under former Sunderland coach Elliott Dickman fortunes improved gradually as United managed to mount a play-off push in Premier League 2 before finishing eighth.
But early on, Dickman made his views clear on results. Down the years the importance of winning has been downplayed by some reserve team bosses or Academy coaches but not Dickman, who told Chronicle Live early in his tenure: "Sometimes in youth football people say winning is a dirty word but I'm a very competitive individual.
