Man City striker Lukas Nmecha settling in to loan spell at Preston North End

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.

But 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.

“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.

“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.

While 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.”

Nmecha 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.”