Central defender Tommy Smith says he was delighted to be in the side which defeated West Brom 2-1 on Saturday and is looking for more first team involvement. The 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes alongside skipper Gareth McAuley in Town's victory over the Premier League side.
Smith told the club site: "Being involved against West Brom was fantastic for me and now I've got to push on from here.
"Pre-season has gone well for me and now my target is hopefully to be involved against West Ham next Monday and then Preston on Saturday. Making my first team debut is my main aim for this season.
"I know that is not going to be easy because there are so many good players here, but the manager wants me to push my claim.
"I thought I did OK against West Brom. Ishmael Miller is a difficult player to play against and it took me a while to get used to him. I had to drop off him a bit because if you get too tight on him, he out-muscles you.
"But we played quite well and I felt good at the end. I knew I had to have a good pre-season and hopefully I can continue that and be involved when the season kicks off, but there is a long way to go yet."