Teenager Arvin Appiah admits he had to battle a small case of the nerves as he prepared to make his first start for Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
The winger was handed his full debut by boss Martin O’Neill for the Championship clash at Sheffield Wednesday - having previously made only three appearances in total for the club.
But though he had a few butterflies as the teams took to the pitch at Hillsborough, Appiah quickly settled into his role and took plenty of positives from his performance, despite the final 3-0 scoreline.
“I was nervous at the time but also excited as I wanted to show everyone what I could do,” the 18-year-old told the club.
“The nerves started to kick in when we were in the tunnel, then shaking the players’ hands, but after I got my first touch I got into it.
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“The players around me helped me a lot. I was speaking to Robbo (Jack Robinson) a lot, Jack Colback helped me during the game as well, so it was great to have the support around me.
“The gaffer told me to be myself; sometimes you are going to lose the ball, but be positive and keep working hard.
“That was the thing and I just had to have that strong mentality to keep going, not crumble or anything, and have the confidence to beat my man.
“I enjoyed it in the first half, as you could see.
“Overall, considering it was my first start I thought I did well.
“It was hard because I am an attacking player but in the Championship you have to do a lot of work to help your teammates out.
“I thought I did my defensive duties well and attacking, we probably didn’t have as much of the ball as we would have liked, but overall I thought I did okay.
“But there is more to come.”
Having shone for the Reds’ Under-23s, Appiah has had to wait for his senior chance this season, after making his debut back in October.
He came off the bench to score against Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup that day, but did not feature again until New Year’s Day, when he got his first taste of league action from off the bench in the 4-2 thriller over Leeds United.
O’Neill then played him for the first time last weekend, at Rotherham United, before throwing him into the fray against the Owls.
“It has been a tough season, but has also been a good one for me,” said the England Under-19s international ahead of this weekend’s home game with Blackburn Rovers.
“I made my debut, scored on my debut and have been able to get some minutes.
“I just want to take every game as it comes, work hard for the gaffer and on the training pitch, and when I do get a chance, I want to show what I am capable of.
“I’ve just got to keep working, listening to the coaches and all of the experienced players, and hopefully I could be starting again or on the bench.
“It would be amazing. I would love to start, 100 percent.
“I want to show the Forest fans what I am about.
“Hopefully I can get on the pitch, excite the crowd and take my chance.”
