Making life sweet his big Cats rebuild

Bury’s Greg Leigh and Sunderland’s George Honeyman (right) during the Carabao Cup, First Round match at Gigg Lane, Bury mier League reserve teams, so Grayson had some idea what to expect on the field from Honeyman and the club’s other youngsters when he took the job at the end of June.

But it was on the evidence of July’s warmup matches that he decided Honeyman was ready to do a job for him in the second tier.

“I’d seen him play for the Under-23s quite a bit but it’s a step up from the 23s into firstteam football,” said Grayson. “I knew he’d played a few first-team games last season but it was what he did over the first few weeks of pre-season that really showed what he’s capable of doing.

“That’s why I played him and trusted him in the first game of the season, and he did enough to keep the shirt at Bury on Thursday, where he played well again.

“While he keeps playing well he’s probably got every right to keep the shirt.”

Joel Asoro and Lynden Gooch were substitutes at Bury with the former – a Swedish Under-21 international despite only being 18 – making a case for some involvement at Car- row Road. Josh Maja, another highly rated teenage striker is unlikely to feature having not yet fully recovered from the injury he picked up in pre-season.

Gooch played for the Under-23s in Friday’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, but was withdrawn at half-time.

Blooding youngsters could be an important part of Grayson’s job with funds to bring in new faces limited but his ultimate aim is to get back to the top division as soon as possible.