Striker Jack Marriott was delighted to score his first goal for the Town senior side during Saturday’s 4-0 friendly win at Shelbourne at the start of what he believes is a big season for him.
"It’s just good to play really,” the 19-year-old said. "It was good to get a half in the first game of pre-season and we won it in convincing style. We played some really good stuff and it was good to get a goal.
"I like to think of myself as a goalscorer and it’s always nice to get back on the scoresheet and it was a good start.”
The academy product is looking to break into manager Mick McCarthy’s squad more regularly during what he feels is an important season for him: "That’s what I’m hoping. It’s a massive year.
"It’s the last year on my contract, so hopefully I can prove something and get something for the following seasons. Hopefully break into the first team and get a few goals as well.
"I don’t send to set myself targets, I tend to just do my best and anything’s a bonus really. I genuinely don’t know [whether another loan might be a possibility], I’ve got to play it by ear.
"If I do really well, the gaffer might want me to play here, but it’s really difficult to say at the moment.
"He’s not said anything [about his expectations for me this season]. Everyone knows how to please him - work hard, do the things right and that’s all I’m aiming to do throughout pre-season and hopefully I’ll get a chance when the season starts.”
He says he enjoyed playing up front with Frank Nouble in the second half at Shelbourne: "It was really good, we played up front before in the U21s last season and we’ve got a little bit of a partnership going, and I think we proved that.
"The strikers here are all different. Frank’s very quick, very athletic and Didzy’s got a bit of flair, Murph’s big and strong, and Tayls has got a bit of skill.
"They’re first-team strikers but in my opinion I’m not a first-team striker, they’re that couple of steps ahead of me but that’s where I want to get to.
"The lads are very welcoming and it’s good to train day-in, day-out with them, but I still wouldn’t consider myself a part of the first-team squad, purely because I’m not a regular in the side.”
Marriott spent much of last season on loan with Skrill Premier side Woking, where he scored 13 goals in 23 starts and one game from the bench during two spells which sandwiched a very brief stint with Gillingham in League One, where he made just one late sub appearance. He says his time with the Cards benefited him greatly.
"I’ve improved a lot,” he said. "I learnt a lot when I was out on loan and it was good to play regular games.
"You’ve got some ex-Football League players who are on their way down, very experienced and it’s tough to play against them.
"Then you’ve got the big young ones who are just going to kick you. You come across all different sorts of centre-halves when you’re playing at that level and it’s all part of a learning curve.”
"But it is good to be back and involved with the first team, training every day, doing what they do, day-in, day-out, Championship players and just go from there really.
"In the Championship you get the centre-halves who are big, strong, quick, read the game well, they’re experienced and they don’t miss much. That’s that step further.”
The Beverley-born frontman, who joined the Blues from Kettering’s youth set-up as a schoolboy, says the week training at Carton House in Ireland was very enjoyable: "The facilities there are top class and it was a really, really good week.
"A hard week but equally very good. The gym facilities, the pool, everything was just top class, it was lovely.”
Marriott wasn’t the only striker scoring his first goal for the senior side at the weekend, recent recruit Darren McQueen was on target in the first half, and he is aware he’s not the only youngster looking to break into the first team during 2014/15.
"There are a lot of promising young players, a couple nipping at my heels, so I’ve got to push on further so that keeps them behind,” he added.
"We’ve got a lot of good players coming through from the youths and hopefully it’ll be the same for many years to come.”
Photo: Ian Summers