New signing Andy Drury said he enjoyed his full debut in the 1-1 draw with Hull City and is now looking to establish himself in Paul Jewell’s line-up. Drury impressed in central midfield, taking over from loanee Jimmy Bullard, who was unavailable against his parent club.
Drury said: "I enjoyed it, it was nice to get 90 minutes under my belt and hopefully I can build on it. I felt comfortable out there, so I’ve just got to keep working hard to keep my place.”
The ex-Stevenage, Gravesend and Northfleet and Lewes man says he took the step up from Conference to Championship in his stride: "I just went out there to play my own game and enjoyed it. I don’t really get nervous, I just enjoy playing football.”
The former builder seemed to settle into the game very quickly and went close to scoring with an early volley: "It was just a bit too close to the keeper, I caught it well but if it had been a yard or so either side of the keeper it might have gone in.”
The former Luton midfielder, who also impressed when taking most of Town’s set pieces on Saturday, laughed off suggestions that his £150,000 January move from the Hatters was a dream come true: "I hope not, I’d go back to sleep again!
"I’ve just got to keep working as hard I can and see where it takes me this season, then have a good pre-season and then have a good season next season.
"It is a massive step but I’ve come here to be successful and it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to. Hopefully I can keep playing as well as I did on Saturday and keep my place.
"When I signed, the gaffer said that if I do well I’ll get my chance. I felt I did OK at Doncaster and did well in the reserves again and have trained OK. With Jimmy out there was a space to fill and he gave it to me. Hopefully I did OK.”
The 27-year-old admits that there were occasions when he started to think that he might never play league football: "Sometimes, another year goes past and you think ‘Maybe it won’t happen’, but it happened for me, luckily enough the gaffer took a chance on me and hopefully I can repay him.
"The set-up’s fantastic here, it’s all geared up for Premier League football, so hopefully in my time I can help the club get there.”
Can he go even further than playing Championship football and play in the top flight one day? "Time will tell! I hope so.”
Drury’s only disappointment on Saturday was not picking up a full debut victory: "It would have been nice to have got 90 minutes on my debut and finish with a win. In the last 10 minutes they threw everything at it and got the goal, but I thought we played well and hopefully we can build on it.
"The last five or 10 minutes was tiring but they threw everything at us but we could have got a breakaway and won 2-0 or 3-0.
"I think everyone’s disappointed in the dressing room after playing so well. It was definitely a bit gutting.
"In the first half everyone played well, it was probably the best performance since I’ve been here and it was a joy to be involved in.”
Drury hopes he’ll keep his place at QPR on Tuesday and that the team can continue their good form under new manager Jewell: "Hopefully I’ve done enough to keep the shirt, if not I’ll have to work as hard as I can to get the place back again.
"Since the gaffer’s come in I think we’re unbeaten in six and hopefully we can keep that run going, confidence will grow and we’ll play even better.”
Photo: ITFC