Troy Parrott felt his first senior goal, the winner as the Blues defeated Plymouth 1-0 at Portman Road, was the result of making sure he gets into the right areas and reading Adam Lewis’s backpass as much as there was an element of it being something of a gift from the Pilgrims' wing-back.
Parrott, 19, notched his goal in the fourth minute as Town made a blistering start against the men from Home Park.
"I’m so happy to get that first goal and finally get off the mark,” the on-loan Tottenham man said. "It was a great, great performance and a great win for us.”
Prior to yesterday, Parrott had made 20 starts and nine sub appearances for Town, Millwall, who he was on loan with in the first half of the season, Tottenham’s first team and the Republic of Ireland without finding the net.
Asked whether the lack of goals had bothered him, the Dubliner reflected: "It has and it hasn’t. Of course, as a striker when you’re not scoring you’re going to be getting frustrated but I’ve had good people around me, good advice to keep going and keep getting into the positions and it would come, and today luckily it did.
"My eyes lit up when I saw the ball coming across, but I seem to keep getting into those areas and trying to read as best I can, and today it came.”
Parrott was moving even before Lewis had made his rash pass back towards keeper Mike Cooper: "Yes, just what I was saying about getting into the areas and hoping that it comes and today I wanted to be in there.
"I saw that he was going to pass it back to the keeper and luckily it fell my way more than the keeper’s and I was there to take it. It’s a gift as a striker, but as I said, you need to be in the right areas and today I was.”
Despite his wait for a goal, he finished confidently: "I’m aways confident going into games, always confident thinking that I’m going to score, so when it came today I was ready for it.”
He says the goal ought to be the first of many: "It’s going to give me a lot of confidence going forward. I’ll keep getting into the areas and hope that they come.”
One slight disappointment was the lack of a crowd with whom to celebrate the goal: "To be fair, it’s been tough on all of us. We want the fans to be back here, I want the fans to be back here, but we’re playing for them and thinking of them while we’re playing.”
Parrott, who has been capped twice by Ireland at full level, has been pleased with his own performances and the team’s displays of late.
"I’ve been happy that we’ve been doing so well recently,” he said. "I’m happy with the wins, the performance of the team is the main thing. Obviously, I scored today but the win is the most important thing.”
His constant running and covering every blade fo grass have become a familiar sight and he says that typifies his attitude to the game.
"I’ve always had that, I’ve always wanted to work hard,” he continued. "The goal’s come today but I just try to work hard, keep getting into the areas and hopefully the goals will come.”
He believes he’s learning more game by game: "It’s just seeing little things that happen. Maybe in my first couple of games I wouldn’t have seen them. But that’s what the experience is and that’s what it gives you. I’m just happy to be playing.”
"Quizzed on what new manager Paul Cook has asked of him, he said: "He just wants me to express myself and be brave on the ball, like he does with everyone else.
"Today, he wanted us to start well and we did and we could have had two or three in the first half. We started really well today.”
Asked what impact Cook has made since he took charge nearly two weeks ago, he said: "He’s made a difference, of course. Every manager has their different styles of play. I enjoyed the last manager, I enjoy this one, it’s all experience for me and the lads are enjoying it, so we’ll try and kick on now.”
Parrott is pleased to be playing regularly with the Blues: "That’s why I came on loan in the first place. The main thing is playing games and luckily I’m getting a lot of game time now.”
Was it unsettling when former boss Paul Lambert, who brought him to the club in January, moved on?
"It’s the way of football, it’s the way teams work in football,” he said. "Obviously, I was happy that he brought me in, I got along well with him, but I also get along well with the new gaffer and things change in football, so we’ll just keep trying to focus on the performances.”
Parrott has forged a promising partnership with James Norwood in recent weeks, although the former Tranmere man missed out yesterday due to back spasms.
"In the last couple of games, Nors has been fantastic,” Parrott enthused. "Just getting close to him, he’s so strong, he has a football mind and he’s so clever.
"We haven’t talked about it, it’s just something that’s just come together and we’ve done well.”
Is a physical striker the ideal partner? "I wouldn’t say it is or it isn’t, I think it’s just his football mind is clever and I read what the situation’s going to be when the ball comes to him and that’s it really.”
"Parrott says he felt he also worked well alongside Kayden Jackson on Saturday: "Kayden’s different, he’s faster, more direct and today I think he was brilliant as well and I enjoyed playing with Kayden as well.”
The win moved the Blues back into the top six, which Parrott says will give everyone a lift: "It’s fantastic, it’s a good confidence boost for all of us, it’s where we want to be, the pressure that we want to have on ourselves. We need to start to getting more and more wins.”
Town now have three away games on the trot at Fleetwood, Portsmouth and Wigan all further tests of the Blues’ credentials.
"Of course, every game’s going to be a test at this stage of the season, but we need to take as many points as we can from the games,” he said.
Can Town stay in the top six or even push for the automatic places? "I’m always confident, the lads are the same, after every game we’ll see where we are.”
Meanwhile, Portsmouth, who the Blues visit next Saturday, have confirmed that they have parted company with manager Kenny Jackett.