York City boss Nigel Worthington says former Blue Josh Carson has been a “breath of fresh air” since he joined his club in September. Carson, 20, has scored two goals in eight starts and one sub appearance since joining the League Two Minstermen shortly after leaving Town by mutual consent.
"I’ve got to say he's come in and he's a breath of fresh air,” Worthington said. "He's done exceptionally well, he works very hard, scored a couple of very good goals for the team and he's created goals for the team.
"So, it's just about focus and hard work and when Josh does that he's an asset to anybody and he's doing extremely well for ourselves at the moment.”
Worthington, who gave Carson his first full international caps during his time as Northern Ireland boss, says he’s not sure why the Antrim-born midfielder went from promising youngster to outcast in such a short space of time with the Blues.
"To be honest, I don't really know the answer to that question,” he said. "If I was to say so myself maybe Josh had just taken his eye off the ball and maybe having not been as good as he can be during Mick McCarthy’s time at the football club, Mick's made the decision that it’s probably in Josh's interest to move on.
"I had Josh in [on loan] at the end of last season and he played for a month for us before he fractured his foot and when there was an opportunity this time round I took him to the end of the season on a permanent contract.
"I was quite pleased to do so because I know the boy very, very well and I know what he's capable of, so it's just a case of getting him focused again and hopefully he can either stay with us or he can bounce back up the leagues where I think he should be.”