Town boss Paul Cook says young midfielder Jack Manley, who signed a three-year contract earlier in the week, has won the right to be a professional footballer but has his most important days ahead of him.

Manly, who turned 17 on Tuesday, made his first and so far only senior appearance as a sub in the Papa John’s Trophy tie at Crawley last season.

“Fantastic, Jack’s a very talented young player, he’s got real ability and talent on a pitch, which is great to see,” Cook said regarding the youngster signing a deal.

“But like a lot of young lads, the future for them is to work hard, it really, really is.

“There’s a lot of talented boys around football that don’t have careers and one thing we’ve got to instil in our young lads, Jack included like the rest of them, is that you come in every day and you train and you practice and you work to get better because at 16 and 17 and 18 years of age, you’re just starting a journey.

“Jack’s earned the right to be a professional footballer and the most important days are the ones in front of him now and how hard he can work to be a player.”

Photo: James Ager

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