WILL Sutton believes working with Keith Curle will get his professional career off to a “perfect” start.

The young defender graduated from the youth team to earn his first senior contract this summer, having impressed Curle enough towards the end of last season in training to make his Football League debut on the last day of the season.

And Sutton feels working under former Manchester City defender Curle is the ideal way to kick-start his career.

“It’s the perfect situation for me. I can only learn a lot from him and it’s just going to help my game massively,” said the teenager.

“There have been lots of little pointers here and there.

“I couldn’t be happier to be working under a really good ex-professional centre half.”

Sutton was not born when the Latics head coach graced the top flight with City in the 1990s, and earned international caps.

But the centre half has looked through the archives and is impressed by what he has seen.

“I have tried to dig a few (clips) out,” he said.

“Times have changed since then, it’s a different style of footy right now, but the basics of defending are never going to change, and to watch some of the clips I’ve seen of him playing, I’ve already learned a lot. The aggressive side of things, doing the basics well, winning first challenges.

“He’s the perfect individual in that role to learn a lot from, and it’s the perfect time for me because anything I can learn now will hopefully just accelerate my performance and my confidence to another level to allow me to kick on.”

And Sutton, who made his Latics debut in the Papa John’s Trophy last season, said he was “over the moon” at signing pro terms at Boundary Park, after coming through the club’s youth ranks.

“All the scholars were on edge, but to finally get told it was such a proud moment for me and family, all the hard work I’ve put in,” said the youngster, who played the second half of Latics’ first friendly at Ashton United, and the first half against Stalybridge, keeping clean sheets in both run-outs.

“It’s early days. I need to keep pushing on now, nothing is going to be handed to me easily.”