Josh Harrop is relatively new to regular first team football and has been speaking of the importance and excitement he feels when picking up three points for PNE.
Harrop joined PNE this summer from Manchester United where he was playing for the club’s U21 side, so his games there did not have the same importance as the Championship fixtures he’s been involved in this season.
The midfielder is thriving off the increased pressure on winning games and spoke to iFollow PNE about his hunger to succeed.
“I’m loving it. It’s exciting going into the games excited to get the three points - and that’s something new to me. It means a lot to get three points because it helps a lot in these leagues – three points is massive.
“For me, I’ve never had that, where I’ve had to work hard for three points and it mean something but I can’t wait for games now. Going into them, trying to win, trying to get results and the team in the changing room is really close – it’s just exciting.”
North End’s form has been excellent since the last international break and it is something the No.10 is proud of. The break gives the players a chance to recharge after the tough schedule but also to put in the work on the training pitch.
“I think it’s great that we’ve been unbeaten, it gives us a lot of confidence and now we go into the international break feeling good.
“At the minute we go into every game and we try and win every game and we’ve done well. We’ve not really conceded many goals and we’ve been quite an attacking team, we’ve been doing well in the games we’ve played. If you look at them they’ve not been easy so getting a result in every one can only be a positive.
“It’s good to take a few days to get the legs back; it’s also good to get on the training ground and work on a few things that we need to work on.”
With two impressive goals to his name so far, both directly from free-kicks, the 21-year-old is now aiming to chip in from open play; although his free-kicks are something he works on in training.
“I’ve had a couple of free-kicks and they’ve gone in, that’s a good thing for me. I want to score a few more from open play but I’m always trying to score and I’m always trying to get assists – so they’re the targets that I put into my game.
“I’ve been doing a bit after training and I’ve been trying to work on it and I’m just going to keep doing that as the season goes – keep practicing and keep working.”
The close-knit dressing room at the club is something that Harrop feels will aid North End as the season progresses but credits the fans for the real motivation behind the squad.
“The fans make everything worthwhile, it’s brilliant to see them cheering and happy. That’s what helps us as a team, helps us perform, it helps us do well when the fans are behind us.
“We have a close squad here, all the lads get on well. I don’t think there’s one which doesn’t get on with anyone; that’s something which will help us as the season goes on. You have to be a tight squad and that helps to win games or to perform because everybody has each other’s back.”
Watch the full interview with Josh Harrop on iFollow now by clicking on the video above.