I know I've been told but I can't remember - couldn't find it in manual either:

Does a player's training just automatically increase his skills or does he only improve if he's in the starting line-up etc? Just wondered, as I have some players with quality potential but aren't in starting lineup yet.

they progress even on the bench. I do think players progress faster as they gain positional experience but i'm not certain of this. My rookies on one team are like different players as the season progressed.

great thanks - so they can continue to warm the benches then