ADAM REACH may be a Newcastle fan but he reckons there is no better place than Middlesbrough for a young player to learn his trade.

The 18-year-old who hails from Chester-le-Street has watched with envious eyes as team-mates from the Boro Academy such as Ben Gibson and Richie Smallwood have graduated to the senior squad under Tony Mowbray’s youth policy. With the futures of Andrew Taylor and Joe Bennett uncertain, the emergence of Reach looks set to boost Mowbray’s options on the lefthand side next season.

Reach comes from a Newcastle- supporting household and admits that he was something of an anomaly at Rockliffe Park. “They are all Boro fans in the squad, I’m a bit of an outcast. Am I going to switch allegiance? It will be hard but if I play again then maybe, yes,” he said.

After being told on Friday that he would be on the bench against Doncaster Rovers, Reach ensured that all of his family had tickets for the final game of the season which proved to be an unforgettable afternoon for all concerned.

After Smallwood opened his Boro scoring account at Cardiff City last week, Reach became the latest of the young crop to come of age when he slotted home a last gasp strike that ended the season on a high note, and left him hungry for more.

“There are good players like Joe Bennett and Andrew Taylor ahead of me, but they might go over the summer and I’ll get an opportunity, so we’ll wait and see,” said the ambitious Reach. “I prefer left back but I wasn’t going to say ‘no’ when he gave me the chance. Anywhere on the left side is OK for me.

“I’ve seen people like Richie Smallwood, Cameron Park and Gibbo come on and I just knew that I would get a chance. There is no better place for a young player. Tony Mowbray loves his young players. It’s a fantastic way to end the season.

”I just wish there were more games left. I’ll spend the summer working hard, training hard and come back even fitter and hopefully get another shot next season.

“I felt unbelievable when I scored. I saw all of the crowd stand up and cheer but I didn’t know what to do. I should have celebrated but I just froze.”

Mowbray added: “It’s great that he scored. We have been talking about him in the last few weeks and wanted to get him on the pitch. I see his quality every day in training.

He has all the qualities to be a decent player. He is a very shy young man, almost painfully shy but it’s about what you do on the field.”