Town captain Sam Morsy says he is delighted for Sammie Szmodics after the new signing scored his first goal for the club in the Blues’ 4-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Szmodics struck an unlikely opener after seven minutes to fire Kieran McKenna’s side in front on what was his first start for Town, before City rallied back and comfortably won in no small part to Erling Haaland’s hat-trick.

Morsy says Szmodics is a player with a huge determination to succeed and was pleased to see him on the scoresheet in his full Premier League debut after a career spent throughout the EFL.

“He just loves scoring goals,” Morsy said of the recent signing from Blackburn Rovers. “He smells goals, he’s a great lad, his energy is infectious, he’s doing really well.

“I’m buzzing for him. Any new signing getting their first goal is a weight off his chest. Equally, we’re all going to be questioned on who can do it at this level and so for him to come in and score is brilliant and I’m buzzing.”

Despite conceding defeat, there were plenty of positives to take from the Blues performance away from home at who Morsy and many others, including McKenna, believe are the one of the greatest sides on the planet.

He said: “They’re the best team in the world, in my opinion, so it was always going to be tough. We had good spells but got punished for indifferent spells. It’s a learning curve, we’re all going to learn together and get better together.

“They’re the best team in the world. But it’s great, though, it shows what you’re about and we stuck to the task. We had some nice things, there were things we could do better.

“We’re still getting accustomed to the league, which is normal and will take a couple of games to really get up to the speed of it. But those are positives as well, we were brave, we continued to play and that’s what we’ll continue to do this season.

“There’s plenty of positives in the first two games, we just want to keep developing and keep believing. We know it’s a very difficult league but we deserve to be here and we want to show we can compete at this level.”

Morsy says he along with the rest of the squad have learnt so much from the opening two matches of the season, against two of the best sides in Europe.

He said: “All sorts really. Things tactically, things technically, you see the level of the top players, how we can exploit teams, what works, what doesn’t and what you need to improve on. There’s loads of nuggets for every player in every department, it’s just about keeping on developing.

“We’ll come into work on Monday and be positive. We’ll take the learnings and come back stronger, that’s what we’re going to have to continue to do this season.

“Over the last decade they’ve been two of the best teams in world football and you can see that. It’s a learning curve, we’ll continue to grow, we’ll work harder and use it as an educational thing to keep getting better. That’s what we want to do.

“It’s never good to lose, certainly. But it’s good to test yourself to see where you’re at. There’s certain bits you think you’re doing well and certain bits you want to improve so it’s great.

“The first two games have been brilliant, and for me personally I’m looking at it thinking what I’m doing better than others, what others are doing better than me and what I can add to my game.

“There’s loads in there if you are really focused, if you can block out any noise, work hard on your craft then there’s loads of development to have from all of us.”

Morsy says he was pleased with the team’s reaction in the first half where City struck three times in four minutes and it could have been easy for Town to go into their shell.

He was also impressed with the attacking contributions during the game against Pep Guardiola’s side, who traditionally give up very few chances, particularly at home.

“Really pleased with the response,” he said. “From our perspective we’re disappointed with the goals but it can happen. Other teams will have similar goals this weekend, especially against City.

“You have to respond, dwelling on things isn’t going to be the way to go for us. We just have to learn, keep getting stronger. The motto of the club is Running Towards Adversity.

“On the break we were really good, really fast and really dynamic. We showed a mix today, obviously we’ll review it and loads of areas to get better and then we’ll grow individually and collectively.

“We’ve got loads of new players so it’s about getting them into the environment and working hard every day.”

It was a tough day at the office for former Man City goalkeeper Aro Muric, who came in for his Town debut having missed last weekend’s defeat to Liverpool with a calf strain.

He said: “You get punished at any level. We just have to work harder, be there for one another and keep improving individually and as a team. That’s what we’ve always done and that’s what we’ll continue to do.

“He won’t be the first or last to make a mistake, it’s football. I’ve made plenty of them, the lads have made plenty of them. It’s always about how you react from them.

“He’s a great goalie with great potential, he’s a great guy. He’s going to keep growing, we’re going to keep growing and we’ve got to improve together.”

The Town skipper was also full of praise for Liam Delap and Jacob Greaves, two of the other new arrivals who came straight into the starting XI.

The Egypt international said: “Liam was brilliant today. He’s getting better every day, better every week. It’s an environment he hasn’t really been in before in terms of training intensity and what’s expected of him, but for a young lad he’s growing every day and he’s showed some brilliant bits. In this environment he’s going to get better and better.

“Greaves has come in, a really good professional, a top player, wants to work, learn and is vocal. He’s going to be a brilliant player for us.”

He added: “Confidence is everything and importantly it’s about courage. If you don’t get a result, there’s a temptation to go ‘this is tough, this is hard’, but you’ve still got to do the right things. That’s what’s going to define our season.

“We’ve played two of the best teams in the league, there’s plenty of positives and plenty of things to work on. On Monday we’ll come in with a fresh head and go again.”

Morsy has enjoyed the step up to being a Premier League midfielder and competing as equals against some of the best players in the world.

“You’re playing against better players who are more tactically inept and are better technicians,” he said. “It’s just about learning and you don’t want to give players too much respect, either.

“You want to go out to compete and get the better of people, but always when you review and analyse there’s a lot of growth left in all of us.

“It’s brilliant to do that. I want to have a successful campaign, that’s the most important thing and take each game as it comes. I want to captain a Premier League team to having a successful season, that’s the main goal.”

The 32-year-old has also welcomed the midfield additions of Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste to the club, having joined on loan deals from Man City and Napoli respectively.

Morsy says competition in all areas of the pitch is needed: “You need that. The midfield unit is really strong now which is what we want. We’re all going to push each other and ultimately the best players will end up playing.

“It’s great competition and it’s what we need in every area of the pitch which the club are trying to do. It’s a long season and we need to keep pushing each other, iron sharpens iron, doesn’t it.”

Asked if he would subsequently have to miss some games himself, Morsy quipped: “I hope not! Every player should have that mentality but unfortunately only 11 can play and only a couple can come on so it’s going to change.

“That’s why every player has to respect the shirt and give everything they’ve got. And when they’re not in the team, they have to work hard, push your teammates, be a good teammate and work on your craft.

“It’s a long slog, it’s a nine-month season with loads of ups and downs, loads of injuries, suspensions and illness. We just have to stick together and keep improving.”

Photo: REUTERS/Phil Noble

heavyweight added 22:44 - Aug 24 I think that should be adept rather than inept
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Nomore4 added 08:21 - Aug 25 Can’t wait to rip Fulham apart…
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MVBlue added 08:29 - Aug 25 Great chat from the captain.Wish they were more inept we might have done even better!!! "You’re playing against better players who are more tactically inept and are better technicians,” he said
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Linkboy13 added 13:25 - Aug 25 Yes Szmodic's looked like he'd been playing in the Premier league for years and i was one of the doubters when he signed so well done to him. Delap looks like he's going to be a great player under professor McKenna's wing already he showing improvement. After the Hull home game i did say to my nephew he's the one striker in the championship i would luv to sign he really stretched our defence with his pace and power so im feeling pretty chuffed with my self.

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Nomore4 added 09:08 - Aug 26 Your not usually right Linkboy13…..so well done this time
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