Josh Earl is looking to make an impression during pre-season after his “learning curve” on loan at Burton Albion last season.
The defender, who came through the Academy with PNE, made eight appearances for the Brewers in League One, but spent a lot of his loan spell on the bench after a red card in his third game for the club.
Back at PNE, Josh played 60 minutes in the 1-1 draw against St Johnstone on Tuesday evening, after playing 45 last weekend versus Bamber Bridge.
“It’s always nice to get 60 minutes,” Josh told iFollow PNE. “I think I’m feeling a little bit fitter this year as well, I’m feeling good going into the games and hopefully I can show Frankie what I can do.
“It was a learning curve for me [at Burton]. I got a silly red card early on and it saw me out the team because the lads did really well, but I played a couple of games there, did well in my games, but I just think it was a good learning curve and the lads who got Burton out of trouble did unbelievably well, so it was a good experience.
“I’ve enjoyed being back with the lads. I’ve not seen them for a while obviously, I’ve enjoyed being at home and I’m looking forward to getting going now.”
Josh started on the left of a defensive three against St Johnstone and the 22-year-old was frustrated that him and his team-mates didn’t come away with a win after Ben Whiteman had put the Lilywhites ahead.
He said: “I think we are disappointed. It was a tough game, we knew it’d be tough, but I think it was important for the lads to get 60 minutes and obviously the lads to get 30 minutes as well, so I think it was more about fitness.
“We worked hard, it was a sloppy goal to concede, but other than that I thought we had good spells in the game.
“It was a good game. Obviously Scotland v England is always going to be a bit competitive and we enjoyed the competitive side of it.
“Gutted to come away with a 1-1 but it was a good friendly to have and I think we can learn a lot from it and crack on now.”
The friendly against the Saints was part of the pre-season training camp in Scotland, with the squad enjoying a week away north of the border.
Following Tuesday’s game, the next few days will be about preparing for Saturday’s game against Celtic, but the lads are booked in for an afternoon on the golf course tomorrow.
“It’s been good,” added Josh. “We’ve got golf tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that as well.
“It’s been really good so far, and hopefully we can enjoy the rest of the week and look forward to playing Celtic.
“It’s a big game, gutted it’s not filled out but it’s going to be a great game. Great opposition, great stadium and it’s going to be a good atmosphere.”
Watch Josh's full interview on iFollow by clicking here.