SUNDERLAND’S latest crop of talented youngsters are in action in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup tonight, with coach Kevin Ball urging them to prove they can handle the big occasion.

Ball and Academy manager Ged McNamee have been instrumental in the development of the likes of Jordan Henderson and David Meyler.

But when Preston’s Under- 18s head to Wearside tonight, Ball wants the crop, led by Northern Irish teenager Liam Bagnall, to prove they have the strength of character to follow in the footsteps of the club’s previous graduates.

“The ethos of the Academy is to do as well as we can now and to progress players through to the first team,”

said Ball.

“It’s important that we deal with the here and now – we need to try to get our players in the first team. There is no better feeling for the Academy staff than to see players progress through to the first team – it’s a fantastic feeling.

Luckily we’ve experienced it a reasonable amount over the past few years and hopefully that will continue.

“I think the opportunities for these young players arise for a variation of reasons. But if it happens, the most important thing is for that player to grab it with both hands.”

Having witnessed manager Steve Bruce take a huge interest in Sunderland’s Academy since taking over in the summer, Ball is confident further players will go on to make the breakthrough.

If Sunderland’s Academy team can overcome Preston tonight, they will face either Everton or Brighton in the next round.

And Ball said: “In terms of my focus – I treat every game the same. Every game is as important, whether it’s FA Youth Cup or the league. I think that way.”

Preparations for tonight’s tie have been restricted by the cold snap which has gripped Britain, but Ball feels his players are focused on reaching the fifth round.

“I think they are in as good a shape as they can be considering we shut down over Christmas,” he said.

“Then we have been affected by the weather – you can only train indoors a certain amount of times in case of an injury. You can get shin splints from training on hard surfaces.

“We have days we have not been able to train at all but in the grand scheme of things you just have to put up with that.”

■ Tonight’s fourth round tie at the Stadium of Light will start at 7pm. Admission is £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.