Midfielder Jayden Harris used his first 45 minutes of the summer to good effect at Annan on Friday night, with a cheeky through ball in the closing seconds particularly catching the eye as it led to a last-ditch winner and plenty of chat from the terraces about the accuracy of the delivery that set Kai Nugent on his way to an assist.
“I think I was just confident at the time when I made that pass,” he explained. “It felt like everyone was running that way so I thought ok, I’ll pretend to pass it wide, but I knew where it was going.
“It’s always a good feeling when something like that ends in a goal. Especially the time it was in the game because you know there’s only about five minutes left.
“It’s a pre-season match but you always want to win every game, and then to get the goal at the end of it was just brilliant for us, to be honest.
“We all only got 45 minutes so you’ve just got to get the most out of it. You do extra sprints that you might not do in a normal game, but you just want to get as much from it as you can.”
And it was a reminder that getting up in support of the attacking movement is a big part of how he plays.
“Yes, I mean, I see the space and I just want to drive into it,” he explained. “It’s bursting lungs and hoping that I get there.
“It’s all part of getting ready for the season and I do feel like I’ve got something to prove. I started playing at the start of last season, didn’t play much towards the end, so yeah I want to prove a point to everyone else, and to myself as well, that I deserve to be here.
“All I want is to be doing my best week in, week out and then just go from there.”
Alongside the pre-season fixtures are some extremely tough training sessions, with some stiff legs on show from the Monday morning outing as proof of just how hard the first two weeks have been.
“There’s a heck of a lot of running,” he joked. “You do the football but before that there’s running. Even after the match we were doing more running so, yeah, it’s just running, running, running basically.
“The gaffer wants us to be the fittest players on the pitch, and with the work he’s set us I think that’ll be no problem, because the football will take care of itself eventually.”
As already stated, his aim is to play as many minutes this time round as possible as the club makes the step up to League One.
“It was very frustrating last season, but I’m a team player and I’m just going to work hard here, keep my head down, and try and get my time again,” he told us.
“I mean, I know this club almost got relegated the season before, and it was similar with my old team, so I’m just happy to be near the play-offs and at the top.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re playing, starting, or not playing at all. They’re all a good bunch and we just want the best for each other.
“I’d say it’s the best dressing room I’ve ever been in. Everyone gets on and there are no awkward silences anywhere.”
“I just want to play my part,” he continued. “Every season is pretty much a clean slate, and as far as I’m concerned I’m getting my chance in League One.
“It’s still sinking in, I couldn’t believe it after Wembley, I mean, two years ago I was in the National League, almost going down to National League South, so to be here and have a chance in League One is brilliant, and I'm grateful for this opportunity.
“I look at the fixture schedule and I see all these big teams, even just to go to their stadiums and enjoy the atmosphere.
“The challenge for me is to play every week and from there I can work up the next challenges. There are new faces coming in, but that’s the same for all teams.
“People come and go, and you need that competition. This season started for us on Friday night and I was pleased with what I did.
"I’d say I’ve done a few good bits, a few bad bits. It’s about pushing on.”
