Declan Rudd is balancing frustration with excitement at present, having picked up an injury in his first game back with the club.
The goalkeeper, who joined permanently a fortnight ago, picked up a slight problem in his first minute back in a PNE shirt and admits it was a disappointing experience, but one he is dealing with.
“I was one minute into my first game back, I cleared the ball up the pitch and my quad went, which is not ideal!” He told PNE.Com from the first team’s Irish training camp at Fota Island. “It’s football and its part and parcel of the job, but it wasn’t great and I was pretty upset and disappointed, because I was really excited to be back, playing here with the shirt on again and I was really looking forward to the pre-season schedule coming up and then after one minute that happened and it set me back, but I will work hard to be back as quickly as possible.
“I want to be as fit as possible as quickly as possible, but there is a fine line between that and doing it too quickly and not letting yourself heal properly and then making it worse, so I have to get that right.
“The medical department here are very good and are looking to get it sorted and I need to balance all that work with the off the field stuff.
“I am also trying to find a house; I have viewed about ten already, so we are nearly there and hopefully that is sorted soon, but the main thing for me right now is getting fit as quickly as possible.”
The new North End stopper has worked with the new manager before and told the official website he was ‘excited’ at how the team would look once they have taken on board his ideas.
“The manager is trying to get his points across to the lads and I was fortunate enough to work with him for two and a half years at Norwich, so I have the basis of everything he is trying to get across, which is good, because I know what he is about and how he likes to work,” he continued.
“Most if his work right now is about getting his point across to the boys, so I am not missing out too much on what he is trying to get over out on the pitch, because I know how he works and what he wants and by the looks of things he is getting the lads working well and it is quite exciting to see how we will play once he gets control.”
Despite the injury, the 26-year-old is enjoying the time in Ireland and feels that is will be extremely beneficial in the long run: “Even if I was unable to walk and just over here for the sake of it, I think it is important that you are here, because you get five full days all together, all day, every day, getting to know everyone.
“I am new to the group, but not new to the club, so it is very important for me to get to know the players, because if you build your relationships with them, it works better for everyone on the pitch and so it is important for the likes of myself, Clarkey and Josh – who are all currently injured – to be out here to make sure that in the down times we are still in and around the lads,” he added.