Young Blues left-back Tommy Smith has been reflecting on a week in which he made his senior debut for loan club Bury Town on Saturday then his Town bow as a sub in the on-penalties Leasing.com Trophy victory at Peterborough on Wednesday along with fellow academy scholar Alex Henderson.
The duo, both 18, joined Bury at the weekend and made their debuts in the 1-1 draw with Coggeshall Town with manager Ben Chenery praising their displays - "I thought they were both excellent” - before central defender Henderson started against Posh and Smith came on as a half-time sub.
"It did not really feel real, to be fair, especially with playing for Bury on Saturday, I did not even think about it at all,” Smith, who has been with the Blues since the U9s, told the Bury Free Press.
"It was a really good feeling, especially being called up at half-time. I would have only expected to play a few minutes.
"I thought I actually played reasonably well, I did what I needed to do. It is hard not coming straight in. I thought I coped well and did not crumble and kept up with the pace of the game.”
Early in the season former Blues U18s coach Kieron Dyer told TWTD he expected Smith to be among the next academy players to break into the first team, which the Bury-born defender says was a boost.
"Kieron Dyer came out and backed me to make my first-team debut over the season but I did not think it would come this early,” he added.
"I was always confident I was capable of doing it but when it happens it does not feel real.”