Watson’s summer switch to Brighton was confirmed back in April, but the move led to criticism from some supporters and on more than one occasion the winger was booed by Sunderland’s fans.
But Speakman says Sunderland’s coaching team and officials never once questioned Watson’s commitment to the cause, despite the fact he was on the way out of the Stadium of Light.
And the 19-year-old said a perfect farewell when he struck the stoppage time winner at Wembley to send Sunderland to the Premier League.
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“With Tommy’s situation, we got to a point where a certain decision was made and I’ve always said that we want to try and be open and honest with our communication to supporters,” said Speakman, reflecting on Sunderland’s decision to make Watson’s move to Brighton public a couple of months out.
“I understand that the way that landed might have seemed peculiar to some people and that it’s probably not something that has happened a lot here before.
“But like I said from the start, Tommy’s commitment to Sunderland and what we were trying to achieve in the season was never in doubt. If it was, then we wouldn’t have done things the way we did.
“I feel for him for a young player in terms of the criticism he attracted, but his resolute nature to want to crack on, impress in every training session and make himself available to be picked or come off the bench.
“Look, to come to the football club at six years of age, come all the way through the academy and then score the 95th-minute winner at Wembley… it’s a Hollywood story isn’t it.”
Sunderland’s promotion winning team was littered with academy stars, with the likes of Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil and Chris Rigg playing starring roles.
Speakman added: “The main satisfaction is getting the club back to the Premier League, which is obviously the journey we started on so many years ago.
“The manner in which we did with so many academy players involved and contributing, some playing having been with us for a period of time from League One and some that we’ve recruited more recently such as Enzo…I’m just really pleased for the club, the players and staff because the amount of time and work that goes into being consistent over such a long season with so many games.
“And all the planning that went into it, I know there was a lot of talk and criticism around that last batch of games, we had a long discussion about how we were going to approach those knowing that we were in the play-offs.
“Obviously we got that right, we had a team that was ready to play right until the end, which is how it worked out.”
