Man City striker Lukas Nmecha settling in to loan spell at Preston North End
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The teenage striker, who is on loan from Manchester City, turned in eye-catching displays against Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic.
Until last week, Nmecha had struggled to make much of an impact – partly due to a knee injury he was carrying.
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Hide AdBut he is feeling far more settled now and is tuned in to how North End want to play.
In the last two games, the 19-year-old has led the frontline – some responsibility for a young player.
Nmecha said: “I’ve played that role a lot of the time so it is not a massive issue – I like being the lone striker.
“I haven’t got the goals yet but once I get one, they will start flowing. When I first came here, I knew the lads were very good players but I didn’t know how to change my movement to adapt to them.
“But I think I’m starting to get used to them a bit better.
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Hide Ad“My work moving off them has got a lot better and that’s the main thing.
“It’s about me trying to do better than the last game and just working my hardest.
“I had a little niggle on my knee which affected me but I’m working harder than I did in the first few games.
“That’s not to say I wasn’t working hard in those games, I just know more when to run and things like that.
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Hide Ad“This team presses so much and I just wasn’t as used to that as I thought I would be.
“At City we press really high but here it’s very explosive and I’ve got used to that now.”
Nmecha used his pace to good effect in the 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic last Saturday.
That burst of speed should have brought him a penalty in the first half when he got clear of the Latics defence only to be taken to ground by Cedric Kipre’s challenge.
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Hide AdWhile that strong appeal was waved away, Nmecha won a spot-kick late in the second half when Dan Burn’s clumsy tackle left him in a heap.
Said Nmecha: “In the Wigan game I was up against two big strong lads so holding the ball wasn’t the main aim.
“Running in behind was the plan and it seemed to work all right.
“Previously I was used to having the ball to feet all the time and maybe not running in behind as much.
“But this is a different game and a different league.”
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Hide AdNmecha hopes that the four points which PNE have gathered in the last two games are a sign of things to come.
The striker said: “We can’t say we don’t deserve to be where we are because we haven’t got the points.
“But I feel that this team, in terms of quality, should not be where we are right now. We have to try and get more wins.”