Newcastle United U21s boss Elliott Dickman wants to 'keep pushing' Joe White after calling for consistency from the midfielder. The highly-rated academy prospect continued his fine recent form with a goal in the Tyne-Wear derby draw at St James' Park.
White opened the scoring on Monday night with a set-piece routine from a corner, drilling the ball beyond Alex Bass. However, the young Magpies were later reduced to 10 men and were unable to hold on for the win, with the Sunderland goalkeeper scoring a controversial injury-time equaliser.
It was a deflating late blow for the hosts, but the 1-1 draw extended their unbeaten league run to six matches. The latest goal also stretched White's own run, with the playmaker now netting in his last three league fixtures.
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The 20-year-old is finding his feet after injury contributed to a slow start to the season. Dickman said the challenge now facing White was to find his consistency after he sealed a 3-2 victory over Southampton last month with a sensational free-kick.
Newcastle's academy side face a tough test at league leaders Leeds United on Monday in their final league assignment before the World Cup break. Dickman is pleased with White's 'progress' so far this season, but is also 'demanding more' from the talented playmaker.
He told ChronicleLive: "Joe is making good progress at this level. He's shown in the last few games he does possess some good quality, we want more of that.
"We're never satisfied, and we want to keep pushing him. We will be demanding more from him come the Leeds game."
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