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"The boy can play, no doubt about that," said Atkins.
"But we had to do a bit of work on bringing the best out of him. He always had the ability, the problem was the mental side of things. He was too easily put off in games against intimidating opponents and didn't take too well to that.
"It was a similar situation to the one Oxford were faced with with Joey Beauchamp. Like Joey, Dean's a hometown boy and we found that he struggled away from the comforts of home.
"So we worked on the mental side of his game - I've been into sports psychology for the last four or five years - and it paid off. We used different techniques and ideas and it's helped him stick at it.
"His talent is undoubted, but when I first came across him he was young, he'd only had a handful of games and you wondered whether or not he would be able to go any further in the game.
"Now he can and he's getting better all the time. He had an exceptional last 30 games of the season and rightly won Oxford's player of the year award, although it helps if you're from the town."
It helps too if you can whip a free-kick at goal a la Beckham.
"I wouldn't want to burden the lad by putting him in the same class as David Beckham, but he's got a similar technique," said Atkins.
"His biggest asset is his ability from dead-ball situations. Corners, free-kicks - he can really wallop them. Oxford played Chelsea in pre-season and he caught Carlo Cudicini off his line with a peach of a free-kick. He really takes a quality set-piece.
"I personally think his best position is wide right, he's very good at getting up and down the flank. But he can also play inside and do a job in the centre.
"He's also shown a lot of character to come through amid the turmoil at the club and I really believe if he keeps working on his mental strength he will do well in Division One.
"He's got to earn that right. It won't be easy having come from an affluent area to stand on his own two feet, but I hope for his sake and Sunderland he does well.
"Sunderland's a hotbed and I just hope he's got the strength to respond to expectation, because there's no question he has the ability."