Tottenham academy chief John McDermott was delighted with Nabil Bentaleb's Premier League debut yesterday.
Bentaleb played in Spurs' victory at Southampton, with fellow Spurs academy graduate Danny Rose also featuring.
McDermott, in the US for a youth tournament, told the club's website: "What was nice was the disappointment was sweetened when everyone heard the result from St Mary's with Danny Rose and Nabil Bentaleb, who have been at these tournaments in the past and experienced the highs and lows with us, both playing their part.
"Just to put everything in context afterwards we said that these boys here in Florida are sat where the likes of Danny and Nabil were only two or three years ago. It just restored a little bit of hope and puts the game in the context of the bigger picture, which is getting players through to the first team."
