PAUL Tisdale believes his young players can be the key to staying up this season.

The youthful midfield trinity of James Dunne, Liam Sercombe and Ryan Harley impressed at Southend on Saturday and Tisdale says he has been waiting for the chance to play them together.

The Grecians' form has improved in recent weeks and they have taken two points from their last two games, when their starting XI boasted an average age of just 24.

And Tisdale says he will continue to show faith in his youthful stars — not only because he thinks they are good enough to help City avoid the drop, but also because the St James's Park chief knows from his own experience that the youngsters will learn a lot from the relegation scrap.

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