Josh Martin was edging closer to his dream of first team football with Norwich City when football ground to a halt – but the youngster says his ambitions remain as strong as ever.
“I want to make my debut and the break doesn’t change that,” said the 18-year-old.
“If anything, it gives me the chance to work harder than my team-mates and come back into the season ahead of them.
“I’m spending a lot of time working on my body and improving my technical ability as much as I can for when we return.”
The Arsenal youth product trained with the Canaries senior squad for the first time two months ago.
“I remember I was excited, because it came from nothing,” he told the club’s official web site. “I got told the morning of the session I was training with the first team that day.
“I was also a bit nervous, going into that environment but then after getting into it and warming up I found myself quite comfortable.”
Having played for the U-18s, Martin only joined the Under-23s in September, before swiftly moving on to joining the first team, and was an unused sub in the FA Cup third round win at Burnley in January.
“For me, everything changed from the Oxford game back in September,” he recalled. “That was my first game with the Under-23s, in the Leasing.com Trophy. That was my changing point, that’s when I started to get recognition for my work in the Under-23s.”
Martin’s stunning winning goal in the third round of the FA Youth Cup against Newcastle United prompted City’s boss to give him a chance to impress in first team training.
“Being with the Under-23s boosted me a lot to get where I am,” he said. “Going into that FA Youth Cup game against Newcastle, I was confident because I’d already played with a much older age group for three or four months. After all that, especially after being with the first team for two months.
“Being around some of the players makes you see football differently; you play more relaxed but at a much higher intensity. For me, it’s about how my mindset has changed and how I perceive things.”
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