Port Vale’s Tom Conlon – the number ten shirt brings added responsibility
Port Vale midfielder Tom Conlon believes a strong pre-season will stand him in good stead for the season ahead.
Conlon joined the Valiants on trial last summer and did enough to earn a two-year professional deal. Handed the number ten shirt in the pre-season, he has been a first-choice starter in the Valiants midfielder and was named as sponsors’ man of the match against Northampton.
With the 10 shirt it’s just a number but when you think about it there’s a bit of responsibility there…
Conlon told the official Port Vale website: “It’s everything I’ve been working for, I wanted to come in and play the games that I did and now it’s up to me to step up. With the 10 shirt it’s just a number but when you think about it there’s a bit of responsibility there.
“I like that and I like the fact that I’m looked at as one of those players as such to produce every week so it’s down to me I suppose.
“It’s probably the toughest pre-season I’ve ever had in my career so far but I’m feeling good now and I’ve got a far few 90 minutes under my belt. I’ve haven’t been getting cramp and the last ten minutes I’ve been feeling strong.”
“I think we’ve got a lot of real good characters this year, like top professionals and I think that will definitely pay off over the course of the season because it’s good to have those sort of characters around.
“With the back up we’ve got we’ve got strength in depth which is always nice. I’ve learnt a lot from the likes of Danny Pugh and Michael Tonge… from the level they’ve played at you learn a lot and I’m still pretty close with Pughey in that sense.
“Just his attitude, when he comes into training every day it’s always bang on and people like Joycey and Mark Cullen who have also played at a good level, there’s plenty of boys you can learn off and I am doing that.”