Midfielder Jordan Holt recently signed a six-month contract with United and we sat down with him when the ink was dry to get his thoughts on the challenge ahead.
“I was buzzing to be offered the deal," he said. "I’ve taken my time to make my decision but I’m just happy to get it done now.
"The deal is only for six months, but the way I’m looking at it is that I’m obviously hoping to play, but if I don’t play in the first half of the season then it gives me options when I get to January."
“I think you’ve got to be confident in your own ability," he continued. "If you aren’t, then you won’t get anywhere. I believe in myself and I believe I’m good enough to play next year, so that’s exactly what I want to do.
“It’s an old cliché but I want to come in for pre-season, hit the ground running and see where that takes me. I want to get some minutes during pre-season so I can show the new manager what I can do, then hopefully I’ll be starting the first game of the season. That’s my objective.
“Everyone has a clean slate with the new gaffer so we’ll all be looking to impress. No one is above anyone else, age doesn’t matter, and I’m just confident that I can come back and make a mark."
His second pre-season as a professional is just a matter of days, but he admitted that he's feeling much better prepared this time round.
“Last year when I came back for pre-season it was nerve-wracking because it was my first year after leaving the youth team," he told us. "I’m just looking forward to getting back this year. There will be new players so I’m looking forward to meeting them.
“I met the gaffer the other day because I was actually at Creighton doing some running when he was having a look at the facilities. I was a bit nervous when I first met him, but he seems like a nice man and we had a quick chat about my running and holidays, and things like that."
After making 35 appearances on loan with local non-league side Workington last season, the young midfielder admitted the experience he'd gained from that was important for his development.
“I was on loan at Workington for a lot of last season, and I really enjoyed it," he commented. "I had to come back for a while over Christmas because of the loan rules, but for the first three months I was there I found it to be fantastic. I was with a top quality bunch of lads.
"We were flying, I think we went 17 games unbeaten, and I played in 14 of those. I went back after Christmas but picked up a knee injury, which was a bit of a nightmare, but it was a really good experience. I played close to 40 games and I couldn’t have asked for much more from the loan.
“There was a big difference between youth football and men’s football at Workington. It’s so physical and everyone just wants to kick you off the ball, but it’s made me a better player and probably a better man as well."
Now that he's back at Brunton Park, he said: “I keep checking twitter to see if we’ve made any signings. It's always interesting when the notifications come through.
"Everyone is talking about what's going on with the new manager and it’s quite exciting. We’re all waiting, just like the fans are, to see which players come in and which positions they play.
“It's all part of the competition for places as far as I'm concerned. I’ve signed a six-month deal, but I want to play. I want it to work out, but if I’m not playing after six months it probably isn’t going to change after a year.
"Anything can happen in football, I could play every week or not get a chance, but my aim is to play every week.”
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