If there’s one piece of advice Paul Dummett would have for any Newcastle United Academy prospect, it would be that they head out on loan.
Not just once, but at every available opportunity.
The 26-year-old pinpoints a loan spell at Gateshead in 2012, and a season-long temporary move to Scottish club St Mirren, as the moments which “totally changed my life and career”.
Some of Dummett’s team-mates in the youth set-up at Little Benton mocked the left-back when he chose to join Gateshead on loan in the National League. Yet, while the majority of defender’s contemporaries are either playing at a lower level, or have fallen out of the profession entirely, Dummett is first-choice left-back at Newcastle and is a Wales international too.
He could, in theory, still even switch his allegiance to England given that he is yet to play competitively for Wales.
“I don’t think you ever really believe it until it actually happens,” Dummett replied when asked about the moment he realised he could make it as a professional, with the defender having initially joined his boyhood club as an eight-year-old.
“Going through the ages, once I got to 15 or 16 I thought I was going to be released. It’s the impression you get from coaches because I was never one of the main players in the team. There were always players talked about more than me.
“I had to keep going, believing and I went out on loan to St Mirren and even then I thought I would get released after that.
“Everyone says Scottish football is not as good as English football but I still played against some good players in that league. Playing week, in week out in front of fans helps you anyway and it set me up to come back here.
“Even then I still thought I would be playing football for someone else and not Newcastle. Then I got another one year contract, I stayed and two games into the season against Liverpool I found out I was getting another contract.
“That totally changed my life and my career.”
Throughout Dummett’s United career, the Magpies have never managed to advance past the FA Cup fourth round.
At Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Newcastle take on reigning Premier League champions Chelsea - but Dummett is confident the Magpies can finally enjoy an extended cup run.
Joselu celebrates with Paul Dummett (Image: Newcastle United)
After all, Dummett is keen to grasp every opportunity he can to impress with Newcastle - particularly given that former manager Alan Pardew told him he would never be good enough to pull on the black-and-white-striped shirt.
“I got told I wasn’t good enough by Pardew, so I told him I had to prove him wrong. He knew then my attitude was right,” Dummett, who has made 127 appearances for the Magpies, explained.
“I had gone out on loan and kept going. He was the one who ultimately gave me the chance in the Premier League.
“I was a bit concerned at the time. In my head I knew that I just wanted the best chance I could and if it wasn’t at Newcastle, I just hoped it was somewhere else.
“James Tavernier was one, who is at Rangers now. Brad Inman was one. Phil Airey got a lot of headlines. I think he’s not playing anymore.
“In general I don’t think - and the coaches will probably tell you that as well - they’d ever say they would look at me and say I was one who was going to play in the first team.
“I don’t know [if Pardew was trying to motivate me]. I think he said it to other players as well and it didn’t end up happening for them. I think you have to be good enough at the time and lucky enough to get the chance.”
Since Dummett, there have been precious few Academy players who have really threatened to progress into the first-team set-up.
But Dummett has offered advice to the current youth-team players - and has encouraged them to head out on loan at every opportunity.
“It’s definitely becoming harder,” Dummett said of the challenge of making the step up from Academy to first team.
“When I was young, even when I was 18, I think we had four or five players training with the first team in pre-season. This pre-season I think there was maybe two in Ireland.
“The young lads need to get out on loan, for their own career really. It is really difficult. With the money that’s in the game now and the players that can be brought it, it’s getting harder and harder, it’s up to the players to go out there and prove themselves.
“When they’ve been up here [at the training ground] I’ve spoken to a few of the young lads before and said: ‘Look, you need to get out and play.’
“I have friends now who I played with at Newcastle and when I went on loan to Gateshead they laughed at me and said: ‘What have you gone there for?’
“They never did that at all - and now they don’t play football anymore. Whether they had more ability than me or not, and there was players who had more ability than me when I was younger, the determination I had to show and the commitment I had to show to get to the first team that some players might not have had.
“If it comes to a time when Newcastle say they don’t want you and you’ve not played any games, if you’ve played more games on loan then clubs are more willing to take you.”