Wednesday boss Dave Jones feels the Owls have the right personnel in place to take the club’s academy to the next level.
Headed up by experienced manager Dean Ramsdale, Jones is impressed by the strides the Wednesday youth set-up has taken over the past year.
The Owls boss places high emphasis on the academy and youth policies at the club and believes this department at Hillsborough is moving in the right direction.
He told swfc.co.uk: “It’s a big priority for me because it’s part of the club.
“We felt that it was an area that we could improve on and we’ve started to do that. You get the right people in and they run it to the level you think is right for this football club and the standards of this football club.
“This year, to offer five players a contract is fantastic. We’ve got some good young players coming through the development squad so we feel we’re in the right place.
“Neil Thompson has joined the academy and that’s because he has great knowledge at that level. He did a fantastic job at Leeds.
“We brought in Dean Ramsdale, who assessed the youth system here and what needed to happen to take it forward.
“We’re now bringing in more coaches and looking to make people proud to bring their son here because it’s a good club to come to.”
Moving forward, Jones expects that the academy will go from strength to strength in the coming years.
He continued: “I’ve been around on a Sunday morning and watched the Under-8s, 9s and 10s, and it’s fantastic.
“The parents are here and it’s great to see their passion. It’s something that’s important to the club because, in this country certainly, it’s expensive business to go out and buy players, so it’s good business to develop them yourself.
“For the fans themselves, there is no better feeling than seeing someone come through their academy.
“The people running the academy should take great credit. The demands that have been placed on them have been far higher than what they have ever experienced.
“That’s how it should be.”