Manchester City under-18s coach Jason Wilcox says he expects more of his players to force their way into the first team.
Manuel Pellegrini handed first starts to two of Wilcox's young side -- Manu Garcia and Tosin Adarabaiyo, both 18 -- in the FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Chelsea on Feb. 21, while 17-year-old defender Cameron Humphreys made a second substitute appearance in that game.
The City boss was criticised for playing a weakened side, with four other teenagers from the Elite Development Squad (EDS) also starting the game at Stamford Bridge, which Chelsea won comfortably 5-1.
But Wilcox felt Garcia, Adarabaiyo and Humphreys acquitted themselves well against the Premier League champions and believes it will give them an appetite to remain around the first-team squad.
"They've got to apply themselves in the right way and all three applied themselves in the right way and treated it like a real game," Wilcox said. "They wanted to win, they wanted to impress and all three impressed.
"I'm sure they won't be the last players from this team to be around the first team at some point in the future. Only time will tell.
"The Chelsea game has shown that the lads have got the temperament to play at the highest level. They're on the very first rung of the ladder of their professional careers.
"Let's not get carried away, no disrespect to the lads, but to have a game against Chelsea when the manager's got all his injury problems is still a great achievement, great for the Academy and they will have lots more games as long as they keep their feet on the ground and apply themselves properly."
The former Blackburn Rovers winger added: "It gives me an immense feeling of pride to know how far they've come. I've known some of them since they were 13. They were my first age group that I coached when I came to the club.
"That's why we're in the job, to help them in their careers, and when they make first-team appearances and put on a performance like they did it just shows we are producing players.
"We've got to continue to do it, we can't rest and we push on and give the younger kids coming through something to strive for."
Midfielder Garcia made his Premier League debut on Saturday as a substitute in the 4-0 victory over Aston Villa and travelled with the first-team squad for the Capital One Cup final against Liverpool.
But the Spaniard was back in Manchester less than 24 hours after celebrating the Wembley triumph to help the under-18s reach the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup -- scoring in the 2-0 victory over Norwich City.
Wilcox said: "It shows the type of characters and lads they are. That pleases me as much as the performance that they respected the game. They want to win the FA Youth Cup. It's a big competition and they want to win it.
"They're at the age where they're on the verge of the first team squad and training a little bit, but they know they've got a long way to go. They're all humble people and know that dropping down and playing here in the Academy Stadium is important."