Lewis Coulton is enjoying all the experience he’s picking up at the moment, on loan at Bamber Bridge, with Scotland U19s and with PNE reserves in the Central League.
The defender, who signed his first professional deal at Preston North End in May 2021, has been a regular feature for Brig since he joined them on loan in November, and his deal has recently been extended until the new year.
The terms of that contract mean he still remains eligible to play for PNE in the Central League, and he came on as a 60th-minute substitute in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Accrington Stanley.
Speaking to iFollow PNE, Lewis said: “It’s always good to get minutes in those games. You’re playing with experienced players, the likes of Hunts [Paul Huntington] who’s played many league games, and Greg [Cunningham].
“It’s always good to get minutes in them games, even if it’s just half an hour like I got today, it always makes a difference.
“It’s helping me a lot because you’ve got the gaffer there, you’ve got Gally as well who’s obviously very experienced. It makes you learn different things that you don’t learn with the U19s.”
As mentioned above, the majority of his recent playing time has been with Northern Premier League Premier Division side Bamber Bridge, who currently sit third in their league table.
With the push towards promotion, fellow North Ender Joe Rodwell-Grant being with him at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium, and the style of play suiting his game, Lewis is thoroughly enjoying his loan spell.
“I’m loving it to be honest,” he said. “Bamber Bridge are one of those non-league teams that don’t hoof it all the time, they like to play and that suits my game.
“Joe Rodwell’s there as well so it suits our games so that’s probably why we’ve been sent out there and we’re loving it to be honest with you.
“We were top of the league last week and we’ve just dropped down a little bit now, but we’re still in contention, so it’s always good to be in a team with spirit like that. We know we can go up there so it’s always good.
“Joe’s doing well, as am I to be honest, we’re loving it and it’s always good to have someone you know there. But you don’t feel out of it because to be fair the lads who are there are great.”
The defender has also been away with the Scotland U19s recently, going over to Croatia to compete for a place in the elite round of qualification for the European Championships which will take place next year in Slovakia.
Featuring in a 3-0 victory over Gibraltar before coming on as a substitute against Croatia, Lewis helped his nation seal a place in that elite round, which is the final stage of qualification before making it to the tournament.
Lewis said: “It was brilliant. I played one game and came off the bench for another one, and the spirit there is unbelievable. You play with lads who are playing for top teams all around the country and again it can only help you.
“We scraped through the elite round as the top third [placed team], but obviously we still qualified so it’s always good.
“Then after that it’s the actual Euros so hopefully in the group we’ve got now there’s a chance we can qualify.”
Watch Lewis’ full interview on iFollow PNE above.