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Marcos Lopes stuck his foot in the door of the City first team – now the club wants him and the rest of the thrusting new generation to kick it down.

Last season, Lopes was a beacon of hope to the youngsters striving to elbow their way to the top table alongside the Blues superstars, as he became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history with a late strike in the FA Cup win over Watford.

And for the new batch of scholars who turned up at Platt Lane for their first day as full-time working footballers yesterday, Lopes was held up as an example of what they can achieve if they apply commitment and desire to their natural talent.

The new intake of ‘scholars’, the intermediate stage between schoolboy and full-blown professional, gathered at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, symbolically overlooking the pitch, to sign their forms and be told exactly what it means to be a Manchester City player.

The 17-year-old Portuguese starlet, and other rising stars, are now hoping to impress new boss Manuel Pellegrini, get on the pre-season trips to South Africa and Hong Kong, and take advantage of the fresh chances being created in the first-team ranks.

For the teenage school leavers who signed their scholarship forms at a special ceremony at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, yesterday was very special.

They are no longer schoolboy footballers, but will spend their days in the same way as the first team superstars, in full time training.

In an impassioned speech, academy head Mark Allen laid it on the line for those bright-eyed kids – they are no longer schoolboy footballers, but in the world of work, and if they work hard, the world is at their feet.

And he told them a salutary tale about Lopes which, if they are serious about being a star, should define their lives for the next few years.

“Last season, I saw Marcos, whilst training with the elite development squad, called over by the manager to train with the first team,” said Allen, addressing the teenagers and their proud families before they went through with the signing ceremony.

“The first team finished training and walked in, but Marcos came back to the elite development squad and continued to train with them.

“Then the EDS team finished and showered, and had lunch - and Marcos went to the gym. That is the level of focus, determination, drive and commitment you boys need to understand, to succeed at this football club.”

Allen fears that English football culture, in particular, has developed an unhealthy disregard for those who go the extra mile, who stay behind for extra training.

They can be viewed as the football equivalent of nerds, or teacher’s pets, as Allen said: “Today, people think that if you start doing extra work, their mates will poke fun at them, and I am sorry to say it is especially true in British football.

“It’s a case of ‘Look at him, he’s busy’ or ‘He wants to get on the right side of the coach’. But it’s your career, so just get on with it – Marcos Lopes didn’t worry about it.”

It is an important message. It has been suggested that City’s ascent into the football stratosphere since the 2008 takeover has stifled their long, proud tradition of bringing through their own players. The boys taking their first bold steps into a tough new world were told, in no uncertain terms, that the door is open – you just have to be good enough and passionate enough, to walk through it.

The term ‘holistic’ has been used at City for the last two months, with Pellegrini hoping to strengthen the ties between first team, EDS and academy, and smooth the pathway which turns hopeful kid into Champions League star.

The true meaning of ‘holistic’ infused the air in the lounge at the Etihad, as the boys were also addressed by EDS manager Patrick Vieira and new under-18 coach Jason Wilcox.

It is not only about giving the kids the opportunity and the support they need to make it as footballers. But also about instilling in them the feeling that they belong, that they are now Blue and should be fiercely proud of it.

In May, chief executive Ferran Soriano laid it on the line. He said there will continue to be big-name signings at City, but added: “The objective – the vision – is to have a team where at least half of the players will be City players.

“A ‘City’ player will be like Joe Hart, who has been there a while. They love the club and can be the core of the squad so that when a young boy or a marquee signing comes, he knows there are some people who are going to tell him ‘This is City, this is how we play, this is how we behave’.”

For the youngsters beginning their big adventure yesterday, that process has already begun, but now it starts in earnest.

Allen told the boys: “Never before has it been as good a time to be a youth player at Manchester City, because the philosophy and strategy of the club is to be a sustainable football club, and the only way to do it is to bring our own players through.

“The philosophy at this club will be the same from under-nine to the first team, so any player called upon to play for any team will know what to do, and how to do it.”

Badge

That idea goes beyond the confines of the football pitch – the boys were reminded that they are not just Manchester City players when they pull on the shirt and cross the white line. It is a 24-hour, seven-day thing.

“Wherever you go, you will represent this football club, you represent the badge” said Allen. “You are standard-bearers and have to have the highest standards.

“Every single time you pull on the shirt, or a training shirt, or a club jacket, you need to look at that badge and have pride.

“Never give up. Two years ago, we were out of it, dead and buried, but we kept going, and that perseverance won us the league. You need to demonstrate that perseverance every day.”

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