Jackett upset by FA's youth policy

Jackett: Unhappy with the lack of protection

Millwall Football Club have a rich tradition of producing young talent, even if they do struggle to keep hold of them, but with the costs of running the youth academy no longer viable the club have taken the decision to downgrade to a centre of excellence.

The original thinking behind The Lions' academy was to produce top quality footballers for the first team but very few have filtered through over the years and manager Kenny Jackett is not happy that other clubs can simply come along and cherry-pick the best of the club's talents before they graduate to the senior squad.

"We've got a very good 13-year-old lad but the system means that at the end of the season he can go, by way of a window in his contract, to other clubs," Jackett explained to BBC London Radio. "At the end of April, early May he had a week at Arsenal, a week at Manchester United.

"We lost three players last season who, no doubt about it, would have been close to the first team this season.

"You do get compensation but it doesn't necessarily help with the morale."