Preston North End’s young Irish midfielder Adam O’Reilly has signed a new contract and gone out on loan in the same week.
The Lilywhites’ No.32 signed a new deal that keeps him at Deepdale until at least the summer of 2023 and this comes on the back of scoring on his debut for Bamber Bridge at the weekend.
The Cork-born player was recruited from Ringmahon Rangers in Ireland at the age of 16 and has progressed through the Academy, making his debut for North End against Aston Villa in December 2018.
And he admits he sees signing on the dotted line as another chance to progress. He said: “It is great to be offered a contract like this; I am very please to be offered it.
“It has been tough to get games in the last year and the fact the club see me developing for them going forward is a great benefit and is pushing me on now to try and get into the first team.”
The loan spell with the Sir Tom Finney Stadium-based club is a chance to get plenty of game time and he wants it to be a platform to show what he is about and he did that with a late goal on his first start.
“I haven’t played too many games in the last year, so to get out on loan now and to play my first game and score in it; I missed that feeling of scoring goals and the competitiveness that comes in those types of games,” he continued.
“It is good to get back involved with it. I want to try and influence the games. I want to make a name for myself, try and score goals and show what I am about.
“If I can do well, I can build from there and try and get into the first team. I take it as a chance to impress and show what I can do and show that I can influence the team.”
The 19-year-old believes this is another step for him as he continues to learn from the regular first team starters.
“It is about building blocks; one step at a time, just keep working hard every day to try and better myself and try and be part of the team.
“You have to go into training every day thinking it is a matchday, because you have to train how you play. That’s the way I work – I work hard in training and I do everything I need to do if I was coming into a matchday situation.
“These players are playing in the Championship day in, day out, so it is about learning off them and taking notes that I can into my game and then putting it into the games and the opposition I am up against,” he added.