CITY’S youngsters are not being forced to look for loan clubs, Derek Adams insisted.

Kian Scales, Reece Staunton and Jorge Sikora have all been made available for temporary spells in the National League.

Adams admitted he would prefer not to be losing any of them – but feels it will be a worthwhile exercise to get them the minutes on the pitch that has not happened so far this season at City.

Scales has been named on the bench twice and Staunton once without coming on. Sikora is yet to be included in a senior squad.

Adams said: “I’m not pushing them out on loan – I’m allowing them to go.

“I’ve already said to them that I would rather they were here from a selfish point of view.

“But from a development and player point of view, it’s important that they go out and get games.

“We’ll still have enough players in the building if that happens.”

All three played under Adams during pre-season but only Finn Cousin-Dawson has made the breakthrough from the younger pros. He has made five successive starts while Oscar Threlkeld was injured.

None of the trio were included against Lincoln in the Papa John’s Trophy – a competition when clubs often tend to blood some of their less-experienced players.

Adams added: “They aren’t in the first team 18 at this moment. Training all week and not being able to play on Saturday doesn’t help their development.

“Now we can help that by making Reece, Kian and Jorge available to go out and get that experience.

“They weren’t going to go to a League Two club, we weren’t going to allow that. The best option to go to a National League one and try to develop.

“Play a good number of 90-minute games then come back here and another club has helped them.

“Depending on the club they go to, if it’s a part-time one then they will continue to train here and develop.”

Cousin-Dawson is currently away with the Northern Ireland under-21s, who opened their Euro 2021 qualifiers in Malta yesterday.

He did not get on in their 4-1 defeat in sweltering conditions in Attard.

Having played at full back for City, the Irish see Cousin-Dawson more in the centre of defence. But Adams believes he still has to grow into that role at club level.

He said: “Finn’s always been in that position – is he a right back, is he a centre half, is he a centre midfield player?

“Players develop over time and then, all of a sudden, they come into their 20s and find their natural position.

“He is still growing and maturing as a player and at one stage he could become a centre half.

“But It’s sometimes difficult to play centre half in League Two because of his height.

“He’s six foot but there are 6ft 2in, 6ft 4ini strikers in this league and it’s not easy. But the higher level you go, height doesn’t actually make a difference.”