Pritch me in again, boss

JOHN Pritchard’s strike on Saturday almost gave him a spectacular debut goal against Colchester.

But the teenager still joined the rest of his youth-team colleagues afterwards to clean out the dressing rooms.

“I still have to get in there and help,” said the 18 year old from Levenshulme. “But it was great to be involved.”

Pritchard is a versatile left-sided player with a talent for set pieces. Before taking up a scholarship at Athletic in the summer of 2012, he was associated with Manchester United for a decade.

Having had a taste of senior football as a 79th-minute substitute — and almost scoring - he is hungry for more.

“The manager just told me to go out and enjoy myself and do what I am good at,” said Pritchard, the fifth youth-team product to make his debut under Lee Johnson.

“I usually play on the left side, but I had the freedom to move where I wanted. As soon as the shot left my foot it felt good. I thought it was in, but it hit the crossbar.

“It was nice to be involved, but now I want to be involved a bit more. The gaffer said I did well, so hopefully that will be the case.”

With a squad hit by injuries, Johnson names Pritchard on the bench again for the tricky Boxing Day test at Sheffield United.

The Blades struggled so much early in the season that they sacked their manager David Weir.

Under the stewardship of Nigel Clough, the ship has been steadied and as it stands, the Blades sit only a place and a point behind Athletic.