Ryan Ledson is feeling the benefit of extra game time after replacing Ben Pearson in PNE’s 2-2 draw with West Ham United.
The midfielder was named on the bench for Saturday’s game but due to a knock picked up by North End’s No.4, Ledson was brought into the action early.
With another visit from Premier League opposition tonight at Deepdale, Ledson is welcoming any game time he is able to rack up prior to the start of the season.
Speaking to iFollowPNE, he said: “It was a bit unexpected, with Pearo picking up the injury, but I was ready to come on and really enjoyed the game today.
“The 60 minutes in the week was just to get my legs back but today I felt a lot stronger and a lot fitter. I’m looking forward to the next few games coming up.
“Any minutes on the pitch are a good thing. It’s a good workout, we’re still in pre-season, we’re still getting fit.
“I’ll take any minutes on the pitch; if it means me coming playing on Monday then I’ll do it.”
Having put in an excellent performance in the draw with West Ham, PNE’s new No.18 is setting his sights at the level that the Hammers usually find themselves at.
“That’s the level we want to get to. We’re all striving to get into the Premier League and coming up against opposition like that, it’s good to test yourself.
“I think the lads did really well today. They’re top quality players, with Wilshere and Noble, but I thought the lads were brilliant.”
With a rotated side expected for tonight’s clash with our local rivals, those that began Saturday’s game on the bench are likely to appear for longer.
Although Ryan Ledson was one of them, he was also full of praise for the rest of the squad following Saturday’s game.
“That’s the quality you’ve got from off the bench. You see Hughesy [Andrew Hughes] with a 60 yard pass that was brilliant but the touch from Bill [Billy Bodin], the touch to take it the other way and to finish it was absolutely unbelievable.
That’s the quality and it’s a headache for the gaffer. That’s what we need to do, we need to give him a headache to see who is going to play.”
You can watch the full interview with Ryan Ledson on iFollow PNE now.