Preston North End’s latest recruit, Andre Green, is looking to improve under manager Alex Neil during his year on loan at Deepdale.
Speaking to iFollow PNE after completing the paperwork on a year-long move to PR1, the 21-year-old winger was delighted to have signed and is looking forward to working under the North End boss.
“I am happy I am here,” he said. "I just spoke to the gaffer; everything is exciting and I can’t wait to get started and meet the lads.
“I had a good season in the Championship last year and I am excited to be here to bring that experience I have had into this team. The lads dealt with it really well last year and hopefully I can bring some extra power to the attack of the team and we can go somewhere this season.
“The gaffer has said he wants to improve me as a player. As a winger you can see what happened to Callum [Robinson] and how much he improved over the course of last season.
"He wants me come away from this season as a better player than when I have arrived and more goals is what I need to add to my game and he is confident I can do that.”
Having got promoted to the Premier League in May with his parent club, after spending the first half of the season out on loan at Portsmouth, the new North End No.19 thinks those experiences will be a big help in his time in PR1.
“I am just 21 and that experience from last season can give me confidence throughout the season and at such a young age I can only take the positives from it,” he continued. “To go through what I did last year and to go up through the Play-Offs, that can only help me as a player and this year I will be looking to improve on that.
“Last year my first loan deal was all new to me. It was a big shock to the system, having been at Villa my whole life; it was new scenery and a bit of a shock to me, but to be here now, knowing what it is all about, I can only be positive about it and know what to expect and hopefully it will get the best out of me this year.”
Arriving to sign was his first visit to Deepdale, but he knew what to expect, having spoken to former Villa Academy team-mate Robinson on his way up from the Midlands.
“I missed the last two games [between PNE and Villa] due to injury and loan, so this is the first time I have been here [to Deepdale] – what a great stadium it is and hopefully I can make many good memories here.
“I was speaking to Callum on my way here and he has only said positive things about the club. He has helped me a lot in terms of what to expect when I come here and what I need to be aware of and everything was perfect for the way I want to play.
“He has nothing but good things to say and you could see that he was enjoying his football while he was here.”
And with the first game of the season less than 48 hours away, Andre hopes he has a chance to show the PNE faithful what he is capable of: “Hopefully I am involved. The aim is to be with the lads on Friday, to train and then travel down.
“It is a bit of a quick turnaround, but the aim is to get into the squad and the earlier that I get into the team, that will be best chance for me to improve as a player. I just have to prove to the manager that I am ready,” he added.