Ryan Croasdale has set his sights on a first team berth next season having signed his first professional contract with PNE on Monday.
The 18-year-old enjoyed an impressive 2012/13 campaign with the Club’s academy and was rewarded with a one year deal.
Now, the former youth team captain has set himself a personal target of breaking into Simon Grayson’s first team thoughts by the time next season starts.
“I’ll train hard and try to get in the squad and start playing. If I can do that I’ll be happy for sure,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be hard, we’ve been involved in training with the first team.
“It’s a higher standard, it’s faster and you’ve got to be physical so hopefully I should be able to step up.”
Croasdale will be hoping to emulate friend and fellow new professional Ben Davies, who broke into the senior squad last year.
And the midfielder has admitted to asking advice from his teammate about the ins and outs of first team life at the Club.
“I’ve spoke to him quite a lot, we’re close,” he added.
“He’s obviously another step up and he’s done great to get to that level so hopefully I’ll be able to step up with him and go forward from there.”
In the meantime, however, Croasdale is focussed on preparing himself for the start of pre-season with the help of an intense training regime.
“We’ve got a training programme that we’ll have to look through and keep ticking over so hopefully we’ll be able to look forward to the season,” he concluded.